TV personality Georgia Harrison said “several men” told her they had seen her ex-partner’s private sex video Stephen Bear leaked as revenge porn – which made her “live in fear.”
Speak on the BBCOn the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the former Love Island star, 28, recalled being approached by people who said they had seen the footage before discovering it went viral online.
After Bear’s conviction, Harrison said going to court was “empowering” and that the jail term helped “affirm” her experience. Although she now wants to see a change in the law.
The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 made it a criminal offense to publicly disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress and without consent. She believes that the requirement to prove intent should be dropped.
After waiving her right to lifelong anonymity, she said she “enjoys making a difference” by talking about her experience — even declining to rule out a foray into politics.
Georgia Harrison says she’ll ‘always fear’ she’ll be secretly taped having sex after being victimized by her ex Stephen Bear
Stephen, 33, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, is serving a 21-month prison sentence for voyeurism and two ‘revenge porn’ charges
“Before I actually saw the video go viral on the internet, I had several men tell me they showed it. So I think when I saw it was on Only Fans, it was the last straw for me,” she said.
Ms Harrison added that a shorter clip of the video had been posted online, leaving her terrified Bear, who was jailed for 21 months for the crime, could sell more.
Georgia Harrison has warned that revenge porn is much more common than some might think — revealing that at least five women message her every day to share their own travails.
‘My case in general has really shocked the British public, but it’s so common – so common.
“Since this happened to me, I’ve become someone victims contact, and I get at least five women a day – usually victims, but sometimes mothers of victims or relatives who want advice,” Harrison told the BBC’s Sunday With. Laura Kuensberg. .
“You just wouldn’t believe how big this is and how many people are affected by it.”
Speaking to MailOnline earlier this week, she said, “I’m so much stronger than I used to be. Now if I talk about things. I’m not tearing up.
“It’s something that happened and I can control it now. If you look at me at the beginning of the journey, I was a complete and utter mess. It’s hard for me to look at myself in that state.
“Two years later I can definitely see that everything happens for a reason and maybe I was meant to keep going to help other people and also to prevent it from happening.”
On the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, she said about going to court: ‘It was tough, and it was really scary… But when I actually got into court, it almost gave me strength.
“I’ve been silenced for so long and not only have I had a chance to speak to a judge and really tell the truth, I’ve had to do that with him in the room and his family in the room, and it was nice to validate the truth.
“I took that power back.”
Wearing a range of lavish outfits, Bear arrived at the trial in a rented Rolls Royce (pictured outside Chelmsford Crown Court)
The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 made it a criminal offense to publicly disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress and without consent.
Harrison is calling for the requirement to prove intent to be removed from the law, on the basis that any instance of revenge porn is likely to cause distress to the victim.
Speaking of a possible entry into politics, she said, “It’s definitely not something I expected in my career, but I’ve really enjoyed making a difference.”
The 28-year-old model previously revealed that she developed cysts and later went into septic shock after discovering Bear’s heinous crime.
Her documentary, broadcast on ITV Monday, Revenge Porn: Georgia Vs Bear, looks at her personal story.
Bear, 33, denied all charges, but was found guilty of voyeurism and twice posting private photos and videos with intent to cause distress.