PETALING JAYA: Pictures and videos of young women and even schoolgirls, some explicit, are being peddled on the messaging app Telegram and social media platform Twitter from as low as RM3 a piece.
Some of these images, which include screenshots or content lifted from social media profiles, also feature minors, based on the school uniforms worn by the subjects.
There are digital albums and catalogues of photos and videos, and each piece is priced at between RM3 and RM40, while freshly taken photos of the subject cost RM120, said content creator Chen An Ran, who infiltrated Telegram groups to uncover such activities.
Last Sunday, Chen exposed the groups’ activities on his Facebook page, which has over 12,000 followers.
It is understood that some of these girls are being duped and told that they are doing modelling jobs when posing for the photos, with some being unaware that their images were being peddled online.
Chen told The Star that the groups also help members solicit explicit pictures.
“The price ranges from RM2,000 to RM6,000 for nudes of certain girls,” he said.
The procedure is that the requester would first share with the group a photo of the girl that he wanted, and the agents in the group would set the price.
“It is between RM2,000 and RM6,000, depending on age, body (shape) and appearance.
“The requester would then pay half the price and the agents would find ways to get pictures of the girl.
“After they get the pictures, the requester will pay the remaining amount,” said Chen, who added that while some pictures of some secondary students were taken with permission, others were misled or had the pictures taken by their boyfriends.
Chen first found out about the groups in 2019, but said that they disappeared in 2020 after a local media outlet exposed them.
He managed to find them again recently and paid to join the groups in order to uncover the story, with some charging membership prices ranging from RM30 to RM70.
“The groups also have different agents and it is difficult to estimate how many members there are,” said Chen, who found over 10 such groups.
He has yet to file a police report but said he was contacted by the police on Monday, who then advised him on how to gather evidence.
He also planned to send a memorandum to Parliament to urge lawmakers to act on the matter and push for stronger laws to protect victims.
“My wish is for the government to have better laws to protect the victims because I found out that some victims have made police reports but their nude photos are still circulating,” he said.
The Association of Women Lawyers (AWL) said the individuals whose images are used in such situations are typically either seduced or duped into sharing intimate images of themselves with their partners.
For such individuals, pursuing legal or criminal action means there is a risk that others will find out or unnecessary publicity will be generated, leading to them being shamed, trolled and having to deal with victim-blaming or embarrassment.
“Perpetrators should also be required to pay punitive compensation to victims as they are profiting by selling such images,” said the AWL in a statement by Meera Samanther, Abigail Shobana Nimbalker and Denise Lim yesterday.
AWL recalled a similar event which came to light in October 2020, where a Malaysian Telegram group known as V2K was used by more than 38,000 people to distribute pornographic content, along with pictures of girls lifted from social media.
AWL also called for anti-stalking laws to be put in place to protect victims who are stalked or spammed.
“More can be done and we recommend that the gap be filled by either adding a clause in existing legislation to recognise online harassment and to impose a heavy punitive sentence including incarceration, perhaps within the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill.
“Regarding enforcement, more needs to be done for the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to quickly and efficiently take action against perpetrators and compel the social media platforms to take down the offensive photos and personal information of the exposed individual.
“The State needs to document, collect data, and analyse these trends. It is also crucial that such information is made public to raise awareness,” said AWL.
The All Women’s Action Society (Awam) said the two elements that perpetuate rape culture were the objectification of women’s and girls’ bodies and glamourisation of sexualised violence.
Its information and communications officer Jernell Tan said one way to help eradicate rape culture was by supporting victims and survivors, and not to engage in victim-blaming.
Scrutiny of the victim’s appearance, whereabouts and character equates to holding them responsible for being violated, when the fault should have been the perpetrator’s for committing violence in the first place.
“When you eradicate the victim-blaming narrative, you allow society to truly hold perpetrators accountable and also an opportunity to address the underlying gendered power relations that drive such violations,” said Tan.