This YouTuber Has Just Won A Landmark Revenge Porn Case Against Her Ex-Boyfriend, And Is Encouraging Other Victims To Come Forward
In the first case of its kind in England and Wales, an American woman has won unprecedented damages in a case against an ex-boyfriend that revenge porned her. The civil claim saw Chrissy Chambers, a 26-year-old YouTuber, sue her former partner for breach of confidence, harassment and gross misuse of private information at a time when the issue couldn’t be more prevalent.
Due to protocol set within the settlement, the male involved cannot be publically named, nor can the official amount of damages paid out to Chambers be shared. However, lawyers from her representative firm, McAllister Olivarius, told The Guardian that her winnings are significant – not only in sum, but in the message they’ll send to others in the same situation.
Chambers, who is currently in a long-term relationship with fellow YouTube star, Bria Kam, became a victim of revenge porn before she had openly shared her sexual identity. In the years prior to meeting Kam, Chambers had engaged in a nine-month relationship with a British man at the age of 18. On January 17th, the statement from her settlement was read in high court – where they were told of how the man had secretly taken seven videos of Chambers and himself having sex without her consent.
Two years after the breakdown of their relationship, and upon the beginning of Chambers’ public relationship with Kam, the assailant uploaded all seven of the videos to a free porn website. It was also revealed to the court that these videos have now been shared to over 35 further porn sites and viewed collectively more than hundreds of thousands of times.
She had previously sought to bring criminal charges against the man, but as the images were published in 2011 – four years before it was ruled illegal to post private sexual images in the UK – no criminal laws had been broken at the time. Instead, she opened the civil case against him in March 2016 and settled the case outside of the courtroom in late 2017; taking home the damages as well as the legal copyright to the footage also.
Furthering her position as one of the most popular content creators currently on YouTube, Chambers has used the platform to document her and her girlfriend’s struggle with the case as it was ongoing. Through interviews with channels such as ABC News and What’s Trending, she's pushed the need for an open discussion on the laws around revenge porn to take place globally. On the channels that herself and Kam run together, they have well over a million subscribers and are known equally as well for their heartfelt vlogs on the topic as they are their comedy sketches and songs.
Outside the court after the open reading of her statements, Chambers addressed a crowd of reporters with: “We have been able to set a legal precedent that should serve as a severe warning to those who seek to extort and harm with revenge porn: you cannot do this with impunity, and you will be held accountable for your actions.” Directly to those who have suffered, and are suffering, alongside her, she stated that “there has never been a better time to come forward” in the face of their fears.
In an uplifting end to her turmoil, she then bent down on one knee and proposed to Kam by telling her that “this is the end of a very difficult chapter in our lives […] and I don’t want to waste another moment ending this chapter before I start the next one”. In a later statement to reporters, Kam called Chambers ‘the bravest, most incredible human being’ that she couldn’t possibly ‘be more happy to be beside’.
Chrissy Chambers’ case marks the beginning of victims being able to legally take back their autonomy and the visual rights to their own bodies. Only you can own what is yours, and your body is sure as hell just that – yours.
If you, or anyone you know, has been affected by the distribution of revenge porn then head over to our Resources page – we have further support for you there.
