Last year in Uganda an artist was a victim of revenge porn. The country's minister of ethics and integrity (yah apparently the country has one) came out suggesting that the artist should be arrested. Here is the link to the story:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30011166
I think there is some degree of responsibility to be placed on the victims of revenge porn, considering under normal circumstances, consenting parties are aware of the potential risks, even if they trust/believe that they are highly unlikely to occur(this is by no means meant to excuse the distributer from bearing the greatest share of repsonsibility). What makes this case particularly interesting is the legal circumstances surrounding the incident. I found it quite interesting that she brought up how her mother questioned whether she had been drugged before the photo was taken; it made me question whether the minister of ethics would change his stance in a case where the victim was clearly less responsible(unconscious, or drugged for example). It seems deeply unethical to shame her under either set of circumstances, and it is even more unsettling to think that she is at risk of facing legal punishment. I think another important distinction to make in this case, as well as cases such as those involving the leaked celebrity photos, is between responsibility and shame. Are the conscious, and consenting victims of revenge porn partially responsible for the possibility of their pictures being shown to a larger audience; yes. Should they be shamed and punished for trusting that the person they shared them with wouldn't do those things; no. To trust those you are close with to keep your secrets and not share your intimate moments with others is not something we should allow to be shamed. However, this is separate from the question of responsibility. This individual took a picture for her boyfriend, who claims he released it to "teach her a lesson". She should feel partially responsible for the backlash that followed(legal punishments aside); but she should not allow that backlash to transform into a sense of shame and others should not be shaming her. The only aspect she is responsible for is creating the possibility; she is not responsible for the mass distribution of the photo to the public.
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