I haven't said anything abt the image sharing that's taken Irish Twitter by storm over the past few days because - to be honest - I was hoping someone else would make the points I'm about to. (Maybe they have, and I just haven't seen them, but anyway...)

I'm very worried... 1/22

...about this issue, and it's not just the core of the story - the sharing of women's photographs without their permission - that really bothers me, it's how it's been handled.

I've not read every tweet on the issue, nor have I trawled through ppl's a/cs to screengrab 2/22

everything they have said. But I've read enough to have a good grasp of what's been going on. I also heard a clip from y/day's radio. I'm deliberately not tagging the protagonists here because I don't want to encourage a pile-on; if you know, you know, if you don't I'm not 3/22

pointing you in the direction of women you might choose to abuse.

Anyway. AFAIK, if you come across illegal activity, the correct course of action is to report it to the authorities. In this instance, the alleged illegal activity was the sharing of digital images 4/22

without the permission of the women in the shared photographs. This, clearly, is a despicable thing to do. It is a breach of trust, it is nasty, it is treating women with no respect, it is part of rape culture. I do not condone it.

I know what I'm going to say will cost me 5/22

I will be unfollowed, pilloried, mocked, sub-tweeted, and (perhaps) even receive unsavoury DMs. That's okay. I'm a big girl.

Here (in no order whatsoever) are the things that have bothered me about how this issue has been handled:

6/22

1. If you come across images you believe were obtained and / or shared illegally, the Gardaí should be informed. Let them do their jobs. The jobs they are *trained* to do. Yes, believe it or not, there are Gardaí whose specialisation is in looking at / through images of a 7/22

graphic, sexual, upsetting nature and prepare files on these images. They have support - emotional and collegiate - onsite when they're doing this. That's important.

2. If you are knowingly, willingly, viewing images which you are aware were shared without the consent 8/22

of the ppl in them - you are also committing an offence! The same offence you are accusing the original sharers of!!
See point 1. It's not your job to go through them.

3. By taking it upon yourself to view these images, you are breaking the chain of digital custody. 9/22

If any of the men who have allegedly shared these images are prosecuted, their defence team/s will thank you.

4. Asking for volunteers on SM to help you sift through the images is grossly negligent. Think about it - how are these volunteers going to access the files? 10/22

Are you going to send them via electronic means? You are? Oh! Then you're guilty of sharing sex-based images without the consent of the women involved, too. Also, it's a great opportunity for people who would enjoy looking at these photographs to sign up to be 'volunteers'. 11/22

You have no way of vetting your volunteers. None.

5. The trauma caused to ppl who may have shared pictures of themselves with a former partner, & who have been worried sick in case they one of the 'thousands and thousands' of women and girls whose photos have been shared 12/22

cannot be underestimated. These women and girls have been made to feel like victims, even if they're not.

6. Starting a petition for a piece of legislation to be passed, when work on said legislation has been underway for yrs is a waste of time & effort. 13/22

But I suppose it doesn't hurt anyone.

7. Going on national radio and saying that you know for a fact that these are 'all Irish girls' is irresponsible, and untrue. Unless you know every single one of them personally, you can't know that. 14/22

8. If the Gardaí ask you to step away - then step away and let them do their jobs. Seriously. Stop inserting yourself into evidence chain. Stop asking people to keep sending you images. Stop looking at the images you already have. 15/22

And, anyway, why do you still have images? Did you not send your files to the Gardaí, like you said you had? Or did you sent them, and keep copies? If so, why?

9. If your organisation is not a registered charity, is not a registered business, is not a registered *anything* 16/22

other than a Twitter a/c, how is yr organisation mandated to solicit pictures that have been shared without consent? Who oversees your ethics, your governance, your policies? (No one, clearly.)

10. How can you say you're offering support to ppl affected by the issue, & 17/22

encourage them to contact you when you - by your own admission - have no resources, have no training in psychology, trauma-informed care, or anything else that might qualify you to offer support in any real sense? There are organisations with trained, experienced ppl who 18/22

can support and help distressed ppl.

11. How can you seek volunteers to view images of(semi)-naked women shared w/o their consent? Even *if* yr volunteers are all honourable people who just want to help, what protections & supports have you in place for them?

19/22

12. What protections & supports have you in place for the members of yr organisation? 13. Why, after the Gardaí have asked you to step away, and after you have acknowledged that they have asked you to do so, do you tweet that you are 'literally combing' through images?
20/22

14. Why, if you acknowledge that the issue is a societal one, & language matters, are you rude - from more than one account - to a person who points out that 'revenge porn' is an incorrect term? 21/22

Why is one of your responses that you're using that term because that's what most people use? Surely you should be the change you want to see?

I know had one or two more points, but I have to return to Mum Duties, so I'll leave it there for now! 22/22