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TV personality Georgia Harrison said ‘multiple men’ told her they had seen the private sex video that her ex-partner Stephen Bear leaked as revenge porn – leaving her ‘living in fear’.
Speaking on the BBC‘s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the former Love Island star, 28, recalled being approached by people saying they had seen the footage before she discovered it had gone viral online.
After waiving her right to lifelong anonymity, she said she is ‘enjoying making a difference’ by speaking about her experience – and even refused to rule out a foray into politics.
Following Bear’s conviction, Harrison said going to court was ’empowering’ and that the jail sentence helped ‘validate’ her experience. Though she now wants to see a change in the law.
The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 made it an offence to disclose private sexual photographs and films with the intent to cause distress and without consent. She believes the requirement to prove intent should be removed.
Georgia Harrison says she ‘will always fear’ she is being secretly recorded while having sex after becoming a victim of revenge porn by her ex Stephen Bear
Stephen, 33, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, is serving a 21 month jail sentence for voyeurism and two counts of ‘revenge porn’
‘Before I actually saw the video had gone viral on the internet, I had multiple men telling me that they had it shown to them. So I think when I saw it was on Only Fans, it was just the final straw for me,’ she said.
Ms Harrison added that a shorter clip of the video was posted online, leaving her terrified that Bear, who was jailed for 21 months over the crime, could sell more.
Georgia Harrison has warned that revenge porn is much more common than some may believe – revealing at least five women messaging her every day to share their own ordeals.
‘My case in general has really shocked the British public, but it is such a common thing – so common.
‘Ever since this happened to me I became someone that victims reach out to, and I get at least five women a day – usually victims but sometimes mothers of victims or family members who want advice,’ Harrison told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.
‘You just wouldn’t believe how big this is and how many people are being affected by it.’
Speaking to the MailOnline earlier this week, she said: ‘I’m so much stronger than I used to be. When I talk about things now. I don’t tear up.
‘It is something that happened and is now in my control. If you look at me at the start of the journey I was complete and utter mess. It’s hard for me to look at myself in that state.
‘Two years on I can definitely see that everything happens for a reason and maybe I was meant to go through to help other people and also to prevent it from happening.’
On the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, she said how going to court: ‘Was tough, and it was really scary… But when I actually got in the courtroom, it was almost empowering.
‘I’ve been silenced for so long and not only did I have the opportunity to speak to a judge and really tell the truth, I got 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.’
Bear wore a series of lavish outfits and arrived in a rented Rolls Royce during the trial (pictured outside Chelmsford Crown Court)
The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 made it an offence to disclose private sexual photographs and films with the 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 case of revenge porn is likely to cause distress to the victim.
On possibly going into politics, she said: ‘It’s definitely not something I anticipated happening in my career, but I’ve really been enjoying making a difference.’.
The 28-year-old model previously revealed that she developed cysts and later went into septic shock after discovering Bear’s horrific crime.
Her documentary, being aired on ITV on Monday, Revenge Porn: Georgia Vs Bear will explore her personal story.
Bear, 33, denied all charges but was found guilty of voyeurism and of two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.
