The Taiwan version of the Room N incident shocked the society, as a victim of online sexual violence, after learning the truth, often fell into self-blame, grief, powerlessness and other emotions. What positive steps should we take after the incident to refuse to be the "perfect victim"?

The 2018 South Korea Room N incident, as if it happened yesterday, in the blink of an eye, similar terrorist incidents were staged in Taiwan.

According to the "Youth Purgatory: Online Hunting Of Private Images Incident Book" released by Mirror Weekly on July 27, 2022, this large-scale digital crime, like the Taiwanese version of the Room N incident, shocked Taiwanese society.

The perpetrator "Airdrop5" has continuously defrauded more than 300 women, numbering the private images obtained, as well as the victim's community account and real-world personal information, and selling them as goods at online prices;

What is even more sad is that these illegally obtained images have also been retransmitted in groups many times and downloaded by hundreds of thousands of people.

As a result, the murdered women have endured online bullying and harassment for a long time, and even been stalked and identified in the street in reality, losing their privacy and physically and mentally hurting in the virtual world.

As a victim of online sexual violence, after learning the truth, they are often caught in emotions such as self-blame, grief, and powerlessness, and some people will also have self-harm and suicidal thoughts, and all of this can happen to everyone.

If you are reading this article and you are a victim of similar incidents, please be sure to believe that it is not your fault that these encounters occurred. You have the right to grieve, or you can choose not to forgive;

You can always express denial, reject these malice, and you can definitely stand up and defend yourself so precious.

Below we will explore what channels the victim can speak up after the incident, and what methods can be used to find the power of self-healing.

(Extended reading: What did the police do after the "Room N" incident in South Korea?) ）


Photo | Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels

What to do when you find that the image has been leaked out?

Finding out that their intimate images appear in unfamiliar cyberspace must be very panicked at the moment, and some people may delete key records because of fear.

Take three deep breaths to keep yourself calm, and then back up the important evidence you have!

Here are the three steps to preserving evidence:

1. Store outflow URLs

Save the "URL of the page that distributes the private image", not the home page of the website, nor the URL of the image itself.

2. Capture the pages of the website

Only by intercepting the entire web page can the published account, release time, image content, ID and other information be retained in its entirety.

If it's a movie, you can use Recordcast screen recording on the web or the built-in screen recording feature of your phone.

3. Keep a record of your conversation

Any conversation records related to the outflow of private photos must be kept.

Once you've completed all three of the above steps, you can start looking out for help!

(Guess you want to see: "Do they think I'm casual?") After the nude photos are leaked, am I still entitled to be happy? ）


Photo | Photo by Pixabay on Pexels

In the case of cybercrime, the victim's relief channels are inventoried

1. Police reporting: Exposing criminal acts

Once you have the evidence, call 110 to report the incident to the police. If it concerns minor children, adolescents or women, it is also possible to file a case with the women's and children's teams of the police stations in the districts and municipalities.

2. Appeal to the public sector: Remove the outflow of images on the Internet

1. Adults over 18 years old: Private Me

"Private ME" is a grievance channel established by the Ministry of Health and Welfare under the 110-year "Digital/Online Gender-Based Violence Victims Service Pilot Scheme".

Through independent removal mechanisms, timely communication with online platform operators, and self-discipline to remove relevant content, etc., assist adult victims in removing the images that have been disseminated, so as to avoid the continuous expansion of harm, so that adult victims can resume normal life as soon as possible.

【Private ME 2 Big Appeal Method】

(1) Fill out the appeal form online (24 hr, Monday to Sunday)

(2) Call for Help: 02-2576-2016 (Mon-Fri 9:00~12:00, 13:00~18:00)

The Private ME team contacted the complainant by mail or phone no later than the day after the case was received (excluding holidays).

2. Children and teenagers under 18 years old: iWIN

Authorized by Article 46 of the Children's and Children's Law, iWIN was jointly organized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior, the Industrial Bureau of the Ministry of The Economy and the Department of Commerce of the Ministry of The Economy.

It mainly applies the regulations on the prevention of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, accepts complaints about harmful children's and children's network-related content, protects the safety of children's and children's network use, and also provides psychological counseling for online bullying (1925 peace of mind line).

【iWIN 2 Big Appeal Method】

(1) Fill out the appeal form online (24 hr, Monday to Sunday)

(2) Call for Help: 02-2577-5118 (Mon-Fri 9:00-12:00, 13:00-18:00)

After appealing the case, iWIN will respond within 7 working days.

The above two kinds of complaint channels are intervened by the public sector to communicate with the online platform operators, asking the operators to assist in removing the shelves, basically as long as the operators on the island will definitely remove the content of the report, so as long as it is within the territory, there is no need to worry.

It is worth noting that when the image is distributed to overseas platforms and is not covered by China's laws and regulations, although it can be coordinated with foreign platform operators, if the other party insists on not taking the shelves, the public sector cannot enforce it.

(Extended reading: Zhang Xici's column| I was secretly photographed in the toilet with more than 300 women, room N is not far away)

III. Other case counseling and psychological consultation channels

In addition to appealing to government channels, there are also many organizations in Taiwan that pay attention to sexual violence and sexual crimes, and the following is provided for your reference.

1. Taiwan Spread Wings Association

Concerned about issues such as the number of victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking in women, the Taiwan Wings Association actively promotes the revision of laws and initiatives, hoping to build a friendly and safe environment to protect women and children from sexual exploitation.

Victims of targeted extortion also provide relevant services, accompany them through the effects of the incident, repair trauma, and stabilize their lives.


Photo | Taiwan Spread Wings Association

【Consultation method of Taiwan Spread Wings Association】

(1) Association Consultation Hotline: 02-2562-1233 #180

(2) "web885" anonymous consultation website handled by Taiwan Spread Wings Association

At present, web885 provides consulting services for common encounters on the Internet: online dating, online sexual extortion, internet pornography, internet aid, internet bullying, internet addiction and addiction, suspected pedophilia, personal data theft, internet fraud, candid photography, other network-related problems and other 11 types.

The association convenes a team of social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and lawyers to form a professional consultant team, which can provide the most professional advice on the problems of the consultants.

2. Consultation on recovery from sexual trauma

After being subjected to sexual harassment, sexual violence or cybercrime, whether it is the victim's relatives, friends, teachers or themselves, it is imperative to start helping the victim out of the haze, but it is also necessary to be mentally prepared for this long road to recovery.

Through the resources provided by the Trauma Recovery Center, victims can feel more secure on the way to recovery and know that they are not alone.

3. Foundation for Modern Women

The Modern Women's Foundation pioneered Taiwan's first women's protection center, assisting more than 8,000 victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment each year.

In the case of sexual violence, the Foundation provides physical and mental care counseling, link resources and financial subsidies, survivors' groups and workshops, important others services, judicial assistance and other related resources to accompany victims and their families through difficulties.

【Consultation Methods of Modern Women's Foundation】

Service hotline: 02-2391-7133 / Fax: 02-2391-7129

Service hours: Monday to Friday 8:30-12:00, 13:30-18:00

4. Digital Women's Alliance

The Digital Women's Alliance is committed to preventing gender discrimination and violence in all forms of digital technology and promoting the empowerment of women in the digital age, and its members include scholars and practitioners in the fields of gender/communication/law/social workers/guards/courts/legislative yuan to promote reform and advocacy.

The Alliance looks forward to mobilizing government agencies and the public to understand and confront the problem of gender-based violence, to make up for the omissions in existing regulations, to change the misogynistic culture in the media and mainstream society, to empower victims of crime, and to promote the safety and equality of every woman or girl in the digital environment.

【Digital Women's Alliance Contact】

Tel:0936-090-710 (Secretary-General Zhang Kaiqiang)

Email： kevinckc1983@gmail.com

(Same scene plus screening: from the special line, the law to the relevant agencies, sexual violence help resources to supplement the post)


Photo | Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

Three mindsets to help yourself out of the haze

In the face of sexual violence and discussions from all sides, whether it is well-intentioned care or malicious comments, victims are prone to negative emotions such as shame, self-blame, and chagrin.

"It's all because I'm bad, it's because I'm not careful enough that I let the bad guys take advantage of it."

"They said I was very unruly and shameless, how should I face the crowd in the future..."

"Do you leave this world and never hear this again?"

In fact, the real problem is not you, but the person who takes hurting you for granted, but has no remorse.

When the injury has already occurred, while seeking help from the outside, we also have an obligation to make ourselves slowly get better, even if we only take a small step forward every day, over time, we can make the pain no longer spine-chilling.

If you want, try to change your mindset and tell yourself the following words.

1. It's not my fault, and I don't need to be a "perfect victim"

Perpetrators usually commit crimes in order to achieve some purpose or satisfy inner pleasure, thereby projecting desires or fantasies that are unattainable under social conventions onto objects.

However, as victims, we are not obliged to take on their desires, and we do not need to bear the fear of invisible ends; We have the right to live well and the ability to express the "no" in our hearts.

2. They say it, but it's not really me

If the person who uploads the image is the source of the injury, then the people who watch, retransmit, and comment on are the perpetrators of the secondary injury, but this behavior that is close to the privacy of the victim does not mean that they know the real you.

The virtues and qualities in you are not erased by these unfounded words, but rather what they do is eroding their value as human beings.

3. I have the strength to defend myself

At the end of the special report on the Taiwanese version of Room N released by Mirror Weekly, we see that these victimized women who bravely stand up are returning to the right track of life in their own unique way.

Knowing that these images of illegal exodus have a good chance of surviving somewhere in the digital world forever, they are willing to raise their heads again and expose the atrocities and misery of the evildoers to the world.

At the same time, after going through the most difficult stages, they are willing to turn their experience into help for other victims, and accompany each other through the ups and downs.

Believe in yourself, even if you are in sadness and unable to extricate yourself, as long as you do not give up on yourself, no one can ask you to leave.

Please give yourself a big hug and thank you for sticking with it.


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