MY EX TRIED TO RUIN MY LIFE BY POSTING NAKED PHOTOS OF ME

Victim urges others to speak out after 'utter shock' when ex-partner sent out intimate images of her, leaving her terrified at what he was capable of

- LUCY JOHN Reporter [e-mail]

A VICTIM of revenge porn has spoken out against the damaging behaviour of men who share intimate pictures of women without their consent.

Laura, who agreed to Wales on Sunday using her first name only, hopes sharing her story will encourage others affected by image-based sexual abuse to report such crimes to the police.

The 33-year-old said she initially felt worried about contacting officers about something so personal.

However, she said she was supported and believed throughout the justice process, resulting in her ex-partner, Ian Davis, being convicted.

She said: “I think reporting it to the police is the only way you will ever take back control of your life. Nothing will take away the embarrassment, shame or humiliation you feel.

“But by that person sending whatever they have sent, they also take a little bit of control away from your life. By reporting it to the police, you're regaining that control.”

Laura, who is originally from Abergavenny, but has since moved because of the incident, said she first met Davis many years ago when the pair began a relationship.

She said they eventually broke up before getting back together in 2015.

“That relationship lasted three and a half years,” she said. “We had planned to get married, but I cancelled the wedding. At the time I got back in touch with him I had quite low self-esteem and was very vulnerable.

“The relationship went in such a direction that I knew I couldn't marry him. And so I ended the relationship and cancelled the wedding and moved out of the home we shared.”

The relationship ended a short time before the coronavirus pandemic began, but Laura said, due to personal circumstances at the time, Davis was the only person she could see. She said it was a “vulnerable time” for her.

She said: “During this time we engaged in sexual conversations. This did not include sexual contact.