NSW women targeted in predatory online image-based abuse forum

Men are posting explicit photos and videos of women from Sydney and regional NSW and then sharing collections of files without their consent on a vile online forum.

Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Minister Jodie Harrison says the online forum was sickening. Picture: John Appleyard

Men are making thousands of requests for nude photos and videos of Australian women and sharing collections of files without their consent on a vile online forum, with cyber-safety officials admitting they are struggling to get it shut down.

The Sunday Telegraph was recently alerted to the forum, which hosts thousands of explicit files, mostly of women from NSW, with anonymous male users posting “wins”, known as nudes, on an almost daily basis.

The male users have made hundreds of requests for image-based abuse content from specific areas of the state via the online forum, even sharing the social media handles of women they want to view.

A section uncovered on the forum was found to be dedicated to “shame threads”, where users post photos and videos of women living in Sydney and in regional NSW, including the Northern Beaches, Bathurst, Dubbo, Maitland and Newcastle.

Disturbingly, men on the forum are trading “burner” Snapchat accounts to share explicit photos of women in a bid to evade authorities.

Hundreds of NSW women have been unknowingly targeted by ex-partners in an image-based abuse online forum. Picture: Supplied

“Add my snap to trade local nudes?” one user from Newcastle wrote.

In another derogatory post, a male asked: “Anyone got this big t-- s--t from Sydney?”

Another wrote: “Anyone got (woman’s name withheld) from Kempsey, NSW?”

A spokesman from the office of Australia’s eSafety commissioner said the agency was “aware” of the “deeply concerning” forum and was investigating it and had been in contact with NSW Police and the Australian Centre for Countering Child Exploitation, but the site’s operators were continuing to evade authorities.

“eSafety has a high success rate in removing harmful material – up to 98 per cent in cases of image-based abuse – however, sites like these present additional challenges,” the spokesman said.

“Not only are these rogue message boards hosted in varying locations overseas, but they continually swap hosting providers and domain names to avoid action from eSafety or police.”

In 2018, a similar forum-based website promoting image-based abuse of women was shut down by Dutch authorities, leading to several men being arrested by police.

Melinda Tankard Reist slammed the forum. Picture: Gary Ramage

Collective Shout movement director Melinda Tankard Reist said the men contributing to these forums were “predatory”.

“These men are putting multiple women and girls at serious risk,” Ms Tankard Reist said.

“They’re not only trading images they have of a current or past partner without their consent but they are fishing for images of women they want.

“There needs to be a universal and permanent ban on these forums, and the platforms that host are complicit in the abuse of women and girls.”

A NSW Police spokeswoman said police worked closely with the eSafety Commissioner, who could advise and refer instances requiring further investigation to police.

“Anyone who believes they have been a victim of these kinds of online offences should report the incident to the eSafety Commissioner who has powers to take down the images and will work with police and where criminal offences are involved,” she said.

“Police do need specific, detailed information to secure a successful prosecution.”

The spokeswoman said it was not an offence to share intimate images with consent; however, if the images were not authorised to be distributed, it was an offence which should be reported to police.

Cyber-safety expert Susan McLean said the forum was another example of how women were being abused online.

“This needs prompt action and the perpetrators need to be brought to justice. Police do work cooperatively with international authorities … it needs to be shut down immediately,” she said,

Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Minister Jodie Harrison said the behaviour of users on the forum was “sickening”.

“Posting explicit images or videos of someone online without their consent is a crime and should be reported to the police and the eSafety Commissioner,” she said.

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Originally published as NSW women targeted in predatory online image-based abuse forum