Nijah McKinneyThe North Carolina General Assembly is cracking down “revenge porn,” the posting of explicit photographs or video without the consent of the individual portrayed in the material. Most often revenge occurs after a breakup and one individual seeks revenge by making the postings.
The new law – dubbed the “Revenge Porn Law,” went into effect December 1, 2015. It makes it a felony to post explicit photos or videos without the consent of the individual’s portrayed. In other words, just getting a slap on the wrists are over.
NCCU campus organizations Emerge, Men Creating Change, the Women’s Center, and University Police will hold an informative panel discussion on the new law and cyber dating Tuesday 6 p.m. in Baynes Residential Hall’s multipurpose room.
Both men and women are victims of revenge porn.
“I feel it’s very reasonable because you’re invading someone’s privacy,” Deauntae Grimes, a political science sophomore.
Grimes recalls a case of revenge porn from his high schools days.
“I had two friends who were dating and after a while they began to not like each other and went their separate ways. Something happened between them where they got angry and attitudes started flaring and the girl posted a very explicit photo of him on Instagram.
“He went in and reported the image but it was too late because everyone had already seen it. Nothing was really done about it besides Instagram doing their best to eventually remove it but people had already screenshotted it.”
Shammia McQuaig, a Guilford College graduate present at an interview with an NCCU student, said she had been a victim of revenge porn.
“Once something is on the Internet it’s a wrap and it’s out there forever,” she said. “When I lived in Atlanta I used to deal with someone and decided that I didn’t want to deal with them anymore.
“They got upset and made a fake profile of me on Instagram saying all these mean nasty things and added all of my friends. They also put some explicit pictures on there that I didn’t even know they had or how they got them because I never sent them.
“I ended up having to go to the police to get a restraining order and eventually they got taken down. It was rough. It sucks.”
Students had a variety of reactions to the new law.
“I think that adding a felony as a consequence will definitely slow down this crime,” said sports exercise junior Khalil James. “If that happened to me I would go out for blood! But all jokes aside though seriously, if I were in this situation, the girl and I could have three kids together and I would still press charges.”
Rueje Hayden, a criminal justice freshman, said she hadn’t yet heard about the law. “I don’t think it’ll make a difference in reducing the crime though because people don’t care about consequences. They’re going to do what they want regardless,” she said.
Laura Acosta, a criminal justice senior, also said she hadn’t heard of the law. “I think it’s a little too harsh to give someone a felony for something that’s a non-violent crime,” she said. “I don’t think people would even know because I didn’t even know about this law until now. People would be getting felonies without even realizing how serious it was.”
An additional amendment proposed by Senator Gladys Robinson passed in a 28-15 vote that gives some relief to minors. First-time offenders under the age of 18 will receive a misdemeanor rather than a felony.
The law also allows revenge porn victims up to seven years to file civil lawsuits.
Shelvia Dancy, a NCCU mass communication adjunct instructor had this advice: “Students should be mindful that the circumstances that exist when you take photos can change … with relationships going sour you can never guarantee photos will remain private.”
