A leading women’s right group has called out the illegal sharing of a young woman’s private and intimate video.

The leaked video, which may have been hacked from the victim’s personal smartphone, has been shared across Malta, with a football team launching an internal investigation after footage went viral showing players laughing at the video being cast on a restaurant’s screen.

A head coach has since resigned and the club’s sponsor has since dropped them following the incident. Police are also investigating the leak.

“It’s utterly condemnable,” Lara Dimitrijevic from the Women’s Rights Foundation, told Lovin Malta. “And it’s not the first time this has happened… it’s quite shameful that this keeps repeating itself.”

Since the video was circulated, the young woman in question has been “in hiding” as she feels humiliated in front of the whole island. However, she said she will not let this episode break her spirit, and intends on returning to social life as soon as she can.

However, the incident laid bare a shocking case with which people shared private content belonging to a young woman without her consent, despite it being illegal.

While it is currently not believed that the video was sent to a person who then shared it onwards with third parties, Dimitrijevic noted how this would be a serious breach of trust.

“If it was a video shared in a private setting with someone she was intimate with, such as a friend or person of trust, it should be condemned heavily by society,” she said.

“What a person does in their personal life is their own thing.”

“I believe in 2021, we should have more understanding of privacy over what happens in one’s private lives, even when one’s private life enters the public domain,” she said.

Recording private videos on your phone is not illegal, though all protections should be undertaken nowadays as everyone from famous international actresses to local people in Malta have had their personal images obtained and released in this modern age.

However, legally speaking, it’s important to remember that the woman did not give any consent for her sensitive images to be shared, which is important.

“It’s no one’s business but hers.”

Aside from the Women’s Rights Foundation, MEP Roberta Metsola also commented on the victim’s situation, noting that she has been pushing new amendments to increase punishments over the sharing of images without the person’s consent. 

What do you make of the reaction in the wake of the video’s leak?