After an inexplicable stranger posted explicit photos to her Instagram, a victim of cyber-flashing has supported a campaign that makes it illegal for anyone to send explicit images without permission.
Karen Whybro, 42, from Chelmsford, Essex, said she was sent an explicit photograph of a man’s genitals from a stranger on Instagram a few weeks ago.
Cyber flashing Unsolicited sending of a sexual image via a mobile device to someone nearby, through messages, social media or other sharing tools.
Cyber-flashing is not currently addressed in England or Wales by any law, even though it was made illegal 12 years ago in Scotland.
One-year-old Nancy was not there at that time, and she didn’t get the message.
After being sent an explicit photo of the genitals of a man on Instagram, Karen Whybro, 42 from Chelmsford in Essex has demanded that cyber-flashing be made illegal
She explained: ‘I opened a message request on Instagram to find it was an explicit photograph.
Fortunately, Nancy, my five year-old girl, was not sitting beside me.
“I use social media to manage my personal and business lives and opened this message immediately.
“It knocked my socks off. Although I deleted the file, I would lie if it hadn’t affected me.
The attitude of some men is to want it. Although it has a certain arrogance it can also be a matter of consent.
A feminist safety advocate has called for more action by the English Government in order to prevent strangers from sending explicit images that violate privacy.
Ms Whybro, who owns bridal boutique Rock The Frock, also said she felt ‘intimidated’ when a stranger on the London underground sent her message requests earlier this year.
She said that the man sitting opposite her on the Tube sent her multiple messages via the AirDrop function on his iPhone despite her repeatedly deleted his requests.
Feminist safety activist (pictured) calls on Government to take more steps to prevent strangers from sending explicit images that violate people’s privacy.
She said: ‘I received several unwanted images via AirDrop and when I looked up I could see it was the guy sat opposite me.
“He was constantly looking down at the phone and sending me image share requests. Then he looked back at me. It is not an exaggeration to say that I was uncomfortable.
“It was very scary in public, even for my age.”
She received her first unwanted message while out shopping a few years back.
Ms. Whybro claimed that receiving an unsolicited photograph of her sexual partner shocked her even more than she expected.
Elle added, “I was shocked by my own reaction because it shocked me more that I thought.”
Although I’m not a fool, it’s very distressing to get something like this without prior warning.
“It’s unacceptable and creepy to be forced to endure something like that.”
She received her first unwanted message while out shopping a few years back.
“A request to send a message via AirDrop was sent to my cell phone. Back in the days before cyber flashing was common, this happened.
“I clicked on it without thinking about it, and found several aubergine emoticons. Then I followed that up with “find me on Snapchat” and his handle.
“It was worrying to know that someone in the street was looking at me while I received an unwelcome message. It is quite disconcerting.
They could see me and I couldn’t. That’s what they do, it’s watching your reaction.
One-year-old Nancy, her five-year-old daughter (both pictured), said she was grateful that Nancy wasn’t sitting right next to her and had not seen the explicit message.
Ms Whybro has had her own experience with cyber-flashing and supports Bumble’s campaign to make sending sexual images unsubmitted in England illegal.
She stated that “Bumble” is highlighting the need to change the law and put the technology in place for deterrent. However, they still need government support.
“It is important to make people aware of the severity and extent of this issue, as well as the effects it has on victims.
Ms Whybro hopes to inspire other victims to talk about their experiences and advised them to protect their social and mobile apps.
She stated that she had changed my phone’s settings, and my phone’s identity was now “Karen’s iphone”. This is to deter those who are actively trying to sexually assault women.
If you want to date online, choose an app that has safety features.
YouGov’s research showed that nearly four out of ten women millennials have received a photograph of their genitals from a man without their consent. Bumble data suggests this number may be higher.
The dating site found that 48% of people aged 18-24 have had an uninvited sexual photo taken in the past 12 months.
Bumble discovered that explicit photos sent via social media apps such as WhatsApp, AirDrop, Bluetooth and WiFi are not received by women in a proportional way.
Ms. Whybro spoke out about research and said that she doesn’t believe the statistics are representative of the real problem. She said the issue isn’t being discussed.
Elle added that 12-year-old girls are receiving these messages, and they don’t want this conversation to be had with their parents.
“Even as a teenager, I felt embarrassed by it. It will be difficult to quantify how many times this occurs.”
Some may say that the photos can be deleted if they are not wanted, but Ms Whybro stated she thinks it violates privacy.
She stated that it should be treated as serious as street flashing. They want the same response as when someone flashes in person. This is not okay and it’s creepy.
“Digital flashing is happening and the government needs to take action to safeguard victims.
“It was made a crime in Scotland in 2009. Were our government so slow in protecting women’s rights?
Women don’t believe they’ll be taken seriously, because the government doesn’t have laws that ensure victims are treated seriously.
“It’s a big invasion of someone’s private and personal space. Consent is the key.
“We need to pass stronger laws that make it clear this is unacceptable.”
On November 2, Bumble, UN Women UK’s gender equality arm and UN Women UK began cross-party consultations with Parliament.
This comes just after similar laws were passed in countries such as the USA and Scotland. Bumble also called for cyber-flashing to be made a criminal offense in England.
In 2009, cyber-flashing in Scotland was made a crime under Section 6 (Sex Offence). A similar bill was passed unanimously by the Texas Senate in May 2019.
On September 1, 2019, the House Bill 2789 was in force. It ruled that sending lewd photographs without consent could result in a $500 fine.
Based on her personal experiences with cyberflashing, Ms Whybro has backed a campaign of Bumble to criminalise the sending of unsolicited images sexually in England.
Earlier this year, a Conservative MP called for cyber-flashing to be made a criminal offence to stop Britons sending X-rated snaps to strangers using the AirDrop function on their iPhones.
Fay Jones, 35, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, has called for ‘digital flashing’ to be made a criminal offence.
She told MPs in January: ‘The scourge of cyber-flashing – where unwanted and unsolicited indecent photographs are distributed to mobile devices – needs to be made a criminal offence.’
Victoria Atkins from the Home Office responded, saying that they were running an inquiry on the current strategy to produce a new violence against females and girls. She added: ‘I’m very, very aware about the offence she is referring to and want these 21st-century crimes to be addressed.
Later Liz Twist, Labour MP for Labour said that Liz would like to see the Minister reconsider imposing a statutory obligation on public authorities to teach frontline staff how to recognize signs of domestic abuse.
Ms. Atkins responded, “I consider this part of our overall effort to make sure that everyone understands domestic abuse, its many forms, and how it affects us all.
The first case of cyberflashing was investigated by police in 2015. A shocking graphic photo appeared on an iPhone belonging to a London commuter.
In 2016, there were 3 cases and in 2017, 15 reported.
British Transport Police figures show that 35 more offences were reported in the first six months of 2019, compared to the 34 recorded for 2018.
It is believed that the reported number of cases is much smaller than actual instances. This is partly because cyber-flashing itself isn’t a crime.
Some cases may be subject to current public decency laws or the Malicious Communications Act. However, there are no provisions currently for cyber flashing.
McGlynn is an authority on legal regulations of pornography and image-based sexual abuse.
She stated that, regardless the “tangible impact” of cyber-flashing it is still a violation of civil liberties.
“The bottom line is that we shouldn’t have the to deal with such things,” she said. AirDrop shouldn’t be made private. We don’t need to chastise ourselves or change the settings.
Cyberflashing violates our right of everyday life. A life that isn’t influenced by the news or worrying about it.
AirDrop works only with iOS devices, such as iPads or iPhones.
It defaults to ‘contacts only’ so only your closest friends and family can see you.
However, to share information with another person users can change the settings to say ‘everyone.
This setting lets anyone send an image to the device. The photograph will appear on the screen, unlike any other messaging apps like SMS or WhatsApp.
After viewing a preview, the user will be able to decide whether to accept or decline the image.