Ms Alicia O'Sullivan:

I thank the Chair. To start, it is quite difficult to be virtually, even though not physically, before the committee today. In a way, I am also glad that it is me here now rather than someone else further down the line. I am grateful that this general scheme exists and that Safety Over Stigma can play a role.

Briefly, a fake Instagram account was set up in my name a while back and the perpetrator posted multiple explicit images of another woman’s naked body and gave the impression that it was me. The horror experienced when realising what was unfolding was amplified by the uniform, dismissive and victim-blaming reasons I received from An Garda Síochána. In addition, the initial reluctance by Instagram to remove this account, while simultaneously deleting my personal Instagram account, further aggravated the situation. Evidently, both the response and the governing laws were inept. From my experience, the perpetrator was more protected than I was at all times, from the moment they were allowed to sign up under my name to the present day where there are few repercussions for this. Every day I see another girl that I know facing the exact same situation on Instagram.

That said, we welcome the proposed establishment of the media commission and the acknowledgment of respect for democratic values but think that, in addition to the rightful liberty of expression, explicit reference should also be made to the privacy and good name rights of citizens. We also recommend that in addition to allowing for the establishment of advisory committees, a specific committee on online safety and media regulation be established.

A huge factor in my experience was the lack of public awareness to the relevant law, given the fact I was told that someone posting illicit photographs purporting to be me was not illegal when, in fact, it was and is.

A solution to this would be the development of a specific helpline or support network for online abuse and cybercrime in which the law and procedures to take can be explained and support can be offered. This would go a long way to create greater public awareness and improve legal and media literacy.

Thankfully, the fake page was taken down in less than 24 hours, but many women privately told me that the same had happened to them and the account was not taken down for about a week. I imagine that these victims did not have the same amount of people reporting it as I did and suffered further because of that. From my experience, it should be standard that when a complaint is made about the veracity of an online account or claims that it contains illegal or harmful content it should be subject to an immediate take down procedure, and this material be reviewed promptly and further reviewed if it is put back up.

Someone pretending to be you online is frightening and damaging. An obvious protective step would be the requirement for some form of identification or identity, which can be traced and verified, to be provided when setting up an account. This could be done by requiring unique identifiers for users signing up to accounts.

I started this campaign for one simple reason. I remember feeling such distress, discomfort and dismissal. I want to play a role in not only putting an end to image based sexual abuse, but for there to be repercussions and accountability for the perpetrators. Most important, victims should be treated with the respect and empathy they deserved at every point. I am simply asking each committee member to do everything in their power to ensure that we, as a country, can do this. I thank the committee.