Georgia Harrison: How I got OnlyFans to take down the revenge porn videos uploaded by my ex

My initial reaction was to contact all of the platforms directly, writes Georgia Harrison. It took more than 24 hours before I could get through to any – some never responded at all

‘I can only compare image-based sexual abuse to what it would be like if your house was on fire’ (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire)

Revenge porn spreads like a house fire. What exactly do I mean by this? Well, my name is Georgia Harrison – and if you aren’t already aware of my story, I was a victim of revenge porn back in 2020. I went on to successfully convict my ex-partner for committing this awful crime in a case that went down in history and is now used as an example in law schools across the country.

On Wednesday, I was asked to attend a select committee chaired by the fabulous Caroline Nokes MP at Westminster to discuss what changes need to occur to help safeguard future victims and prevent this crime from having such a devastating effect on their lives.

During the evidence session, I was asked about my personal experience and how the big tech platforms who were hosting this sexually explicit video of me (which I neither consented to the filming nor distribution of) reacted during the time I was desperately trying to get it removed – regardless of the fact that it had already racked up millions of views across various sites.

My initial reaction was to contact all of the platforms directly. It took more than 24 hours before I could get through to any. OnlyFans were the quickest to remove the content, taking just over a day (a response time they have since worked on making even faster, according to a spokesperson who attended the evidence session on Wednesday). Other platforms sent an automated response stating they would get back to me in four to six days – and many just did not respond at all.

I can only compare image-based sexual abuse to what it would be like if your house was on fire. The second those images or photos are out there on the web, for anyone to get their hands on, they need to be dealt with as soon as possible.

If platforms respond quickly enough, the content may not get far enough to have a devastating effect on victims’ lives. However, as each day goes by, it’s another opportunity for it to spread to your family, your partner, your friends, your colleagues... even your employer. Before you know it, everything you once knew to be “your life” has either gone or changed forever.

It was nice to hear that OnlyFans are making an effort to have a 24-hour helpline for issues such as non-consensual material. Unfortunately, most tech platforms just do not care or are unwilling to put funding into safe compliance systems that protect their users.

It is up to the government now to take back control and hand fines and prison sentences to companies unwilling to safeguard UK citizens. To add to this: even if you do successfully convict your perpetrator of image-based sexual abuse, currently the images or videos in question are not deemed “illegal” – even after you have won in court.

Because of this, leading charities are working to get this sort of content removed. But those who run revenge porn helplines are struggling to get links taken down, meaning victims are having to live knowing this awful material is still out there for anyone in the world to see.

The government has come a long way in keeping up to date with changes in technology – and the Online Safety Act is a huge step in the right direction – but there still is so much to be done.

If you have been affected by this crime please contact the revenge porn helpline at revengepornhelpline.org.uk