Recently, Shanley, a young woman, was brought to light for her fight against revenge porn ! The Grunge News team is back on the subject today, bringing you more explanations on how to fight, and what to do if it happens to you, ... with Elena, an activist alongside Shanley.
Hello, could you introduce yourself ?
Hi, my name is Elena, I'm 20 years old. I'm currently studying for a BTS in Negotiation and Digitalization of Commercial Relationships, and for weeks I've been an activist against revenge porn.
Can you define the term "Fisha" ?
The term "fisha" is the verlan of “afficher” which means, to display. In other words, posting compromising photos on the social networks for everyone to see.
What is "Revenge Porn"?
Revenge Porn" is when you share sexually explicit content in public without the person's consent for the purpose of some sort of "revenge".
How would you define these acts ?
These acts can be described as dangerous, disgusting, and ridiculous, stemming from the frustration of the perpetrators.
You are associated with the whistleblower Shanley, how many of you are working on this fight against "Revenge porn" ?
We are a group of about ten girls fighting.
What is your mode of operation to best contain the accounts of "Fisha"?
To contain the accounts as well as possible, we carry out "raids", reporting the accounts directly onto the platforms but also on Pharos (digital brigade) and on Net Ecoute.
Are there any men involved in your fight ?
Within our group there are no men, but we do have men who help us on a daily basis and who have offered to help us with the reporting of accounts.
What is the profile of a "Fisha" account creator?
There's not really a typical profile to be a Fisha account creator. Most of them are men, but you can also find women. Often the desire to create a fisha account comes from a feeling of hatred or a desire for revenge.
How do Fisha account creators manage to get these nudes?
Most of the time, account creators ask for videos/photos from those who watch the stories. There are not only nudes, there are also torture, rape scenes...
When a "Fisha" account creator gets one of their accounts deleted, and starts a new one under a different pseudonym, is there a way to prevent this from occurring?
Yes, we've often had to deal with some creators who don't want to give up by creating backup accounts and/or switching to another name. We're watching, but fortunately we know people who give us the names of these accounts, so we can keep blowing them up.
As of today, ever since you became an activist, how many accounts have been closed, how many have been (re)opened and how many people have been arrested?
We have closed about 200 accounts. We know of more than a hundred accounts that are still active today, and unfortunately no one has been arrested yet.
Being a broadcaster of this type of content can be harmful, can you remind us of the penalties?
The penalties currently include a 60,000 euros fine with an additional two years of imprisonment.
Recently a young girl committed suicide after being a victim of "Revenge Porn" on social networks, what should I do if my nudes have already been broadcasted?
As a victim, don't hesitate to take screenshots to keep evidence and file a complaint. You can also contact us on: jenesuispasseule@protonmail.com but also on our social networks Instagram (stop.fisha) and twitter (FishaStop). We accompany the victims and explain to them how to do it, we can also give them moral support.
Aren't there any moderators at Snapchat and Telegram (which would be the social networks with the most content of its kind) who should already be doing the courageous and supportive work you do?
Yes, normally there are people who are supposed to take care of these things, but these platforms don't act. We also notice that reports take much longer to be processed. How does it make sense that accounts or channels are still open after weeks, with thousands of reports about them every day ? We also believe that the platforms are voluntarily turning a blind eye to the phenomenon.
Men, in smaller numbers, are also victims. Are you also fighting against these accounts?
We are fighting for everyone, men and women, we receive testimonies from men who have been posted in the same way and have done what is necessary for them. We are all concerned, and we must be in solidarity in the face of this phenomenon.
Why do you think men are less victims of "Revenge Porn" than women?
Women are surely more victims than men because the female body has always been very sexualized. Also for the creators of the accounts, it is not normal for a woman to show her body, or to display the fact that she is having sex, so it is their "duty" to destroy a woman's reputation to the point of sometimes pushing her to suicide.
As an activist for a cause like yours, is one necessarily a feminist ?
Yes and no, even if the disclosure of information in a private capacity does not have any border between men and women, and if fishas accounts exist, then it is partly because of the sexism claimed by the creators of these types of accounts.
Should we get to the point where we should no longer be nude ?
We can't stop a person from sharing nudes and having a private life. I especially think we should be careful not to send things that we might regret later on if they were broadcasted. Above all, we have to be informed about the person in front of us, so that we can take legal action if anything goes wrong. I think we should make young people more aware, because even though we say to be wary of social networks, some people don't understand why, or take these warnings lightly.
Quarantine has led to a proliferation of "Revenge Porn" accounts, what is your explanation for this ?
These types of accounts have been around for a long time, but it was a rather unpopular phenomenon. Confinement plays a big role, it's probably a way to keep them
out of trouble.
Will this struggle continue as much after containment, as it did during it ?
We will continue to fight and put pressure on the social networks until they decide to stop and let it go!
Will this fight ever end or will it never stop ?
It's a fight that we will have to wage in the long term, until this phenomenon calms down, but as long as the networks are present, it will be difficult to stop it completely.
Can you describe a typical day for an activist like you ?
We have grouped together as a group in order to outsource the work and focus exclusively on one case per group. For example, I work on social networks, my day is all about responding to messages, feeding the networks, and of course reporting on the side.
If we also want to fight, how do we do it? Can we join your team? If so, how?
You can join us on our networks:
Instagram - @stop.fisha
Twitter - @FishaStop
You can help us by reporting accounts, by sending us screenshots of what you see, by reporting yourself on your side on the relevant platform but also on Pharos and Net
Ecoute! Shame must change sides !
-Grunge News thanks you for your collaboration-
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