REMINDER: Sharing explicit videos without the owner’s consent is a crime

Video scandals, illegal sex tapes—these have become prolific in our society today. It’s an overwhelming problem we have yet to solve. Case in point: Just recently, K-pop star Jung Joon-young was arrested over sharing sexually explicit videos of women he filmed without their consent. “I am truly sorry. I admit to all charges against me. I will not challenge the charges brought by the investigative agency, and I will humbly accept the court’s decision,” he said. “I bow my head in apology to the women who were victimized by my actions.”

It’s a sad, sad state we’re in. It shows just how serious this issue is. Sharing explicit videos is now considered normal—how effed up is that? And it’s further proof that even the most unexpected people are capable of doing a sinister act like that. Honestly, I wasn’t that shocked when I heard of it. What with the revelations exposed by the #MeToo movement, I think I have already conditioned myself to the fact that devious men are abound in society—and powerful men, well, they have more resources, so to speak.

But I think we’ve officially hit a new low. There’s another scandal going viral. And something I do find shocking is that there are people proudly posting on Facebook and Twitter, saying they have the link to the scandal. And netizens—not even as private messages, mind you—are commenting that they want the link. Some of them are even women. Disgusting.

How do these people wash their hands off the crime and convince themselves what they’re doing is justified? Based on majority of the comments I’ve read, people are saying that the woman shouldn’t have done that in the first place; that if she wants respect, she needs to respect herself first. Okay, let’s get one thing straight: She is NOT the problem. You, the people sharing the video, are. A woman exploring her sexuality doesn’t mean she doesn’t respect herself. But the fact that you are sharing it means without a doubt that you are an asshole. I mean, you treat the woman as if she’s nothing but a piece of meat you can feast on. You don’t even stop to think about how your actions might affect her. Regardless if the person is famous or not (it’s unconfirmed BTW), that doesn’t give anybody the right to treat the video as public property.

Also, this problem is obviously a sexist one. In the K-Pop scandal for instance, despite the men admitting to the crime, people still somehow found a way to shame the women. Meanwhile, with this new scandal, people are basically slut-shaming the woman too. Which is rich, because I remember, a man she’s involved with also had a similar scandal in the past. And when that happened, I don’t recall anyone telling him he doesn’t respect himself. In fact, people accused him of using that to boost his career. Because apparently, for men, that kind of video can improve their marketability. But to a woman, it could be the end of her. The whole thing is honestly so effed up.

Luckily, there are a lot of netizens defending the woman. They were pointing out how a lot of those asking for the links are hypocrites because most probably, they are the ones demanding for death penalty for rapists, as they recognize that sexual assault is a horrendous crime. Of course, that and this are different things. But they fail to realize that sharing videos without the owner’s consent is a form of is sexual harassment too. And the women asking for links, I would imagine they demand respect too. But they can’t even give a sister the respect she deserves.

Also, I would just like to say: To people who are saying that it wasn’t really this woman, but another, whose photos you are also posting to compare and convince others—please stop. The issue here is not the identity but the act of sharing a video without the owner’s consent. What you’re doing is just placing the “slut-shaming” to someone else.

As for the one who uploaded the video: I hope you realize what you did is a crime, and I hope you get what’s coming for you. To the woman involved, please know that you can file charges. And to those who demand on seeing the video—especially the women, well. I hope something similar doesn’t happen to you.