'I thought my life was over': Woman was 'victim blamed' after being filmed having sex
A young woman who was ‘slut-shamed’ and ‘victim blamed’ after she was filmed having sex when drunk has warned young people of the consequences of sharing such images on social media.
Roisin Nic Lochlainn told RTÉ that her classmates who filmed the incident in the North “probably didn’t understand the consequences of what they did.”
Both Ms NicLochlainn and the young man were both 17 and drunk when they were filmed having sex during a night out.
Neither remembered the incident and did not know what had happened until they were told about the videos the following day.
“I stayed in my room for the weekend, I thought my life was over.”
Ms Nic Lochlainn said that she did not have a relationship with her parents for a year after the incident and relied on friends to support her.
Roisin tells Joe of the effect revenge porn had on her life. Three years ago, when she was 17, a video of her having sex was sent around her school.
— Liveline (@rteliveline) June 23, 2020
"I don't know if they realised the effect it had on me."#liveline@joeliveline
For a year her family did not talk about the incident, but they have since re-established a relationship.
She said she panicked that her family, her friends, her school and future employers would see the video.
This week Ms Nic Lochlainn tweeted about the incident in the hope that it would help other young women.
The incident had a devastating impact on her while the young man involved was called “a legend”.
“How damaging was it that 50-year-old men were coming into my sister’s work showing her the video.”
What particularly concerned her was that no one attempted to help her or to stop the girls filming the event.
In the days since she tweeted about the incident, she has received numerous messages of support but has not received an apology from the girls who made the video.
Ms Nic Lochlainn, who is studying law and politics in NUI Galway is now vice president of the Students Union at the college.
