More intimate photos shared without consent in P.E.I. than any other province: Stats Can | CBC News

More people have had intimate images of them shared without their consent on Prince Edward Island than in any other province in the country, data shows.

There were 14.1 cases of non-consensual intimate image sharing per 100,000 Islanders from 2018 through 2022, according to Statistics Canada. That’s compared to a national average of 5.6 cases per 100,000 over the same time period.

In 2022, there was about one incident for every other week of the year.

P.E.I. RCMP say they see these crimes quite regularly.

“This is a crime that can have a deep and severe impact on victims,” Cpl. Gavin Moore said.

The images are sometimes shared by people the victim had a past relationship with, Moore said.

Other times, the incident is related to a scam. Moore said there’s been an increase in scams targeting teens and young adults, mostly male.

The scammers find their victims online, eventually asking them for explicit pictures. Once they get a photo, they blackmail the victims.

“This is sometimes a challenging thing as a parent to deal with,” Moore said.

“We would encourage any parent to have those conversations with the youth in their household.”

Victims too embarrassed to come forward

Police said that while these types of crimes happen regularly, they often go under-reported.

Moore said they’re akin to fraud cases, where about only 5 per cent of people contact police.

“[It’s] the embarrassment factor,” he said. “What’s important that Islanders know is that reporting this to police, we are not here to judge, we’re not here to shame: We’re here to help.”

Police say they can connect victims to resources and supports, and help them through the situation. 

“The victim is in the driver’s seat,” Moore said. “We’re not going to re-victimize anybody. We want them to feel comfortable.” 

Numbers ‘disheartening’

Malak Nassar is publications manager with Community Legal Information (CLI), a non-profit that helps Islanders navigate the legal system.

She said the number of cases is “disheartening.”

“Sharing someone’s intimate images without their consent is a form of sexual violence,” she said.

People who have had their photos shared without consent have different legal options, Nassar said.

If they don’t want to report what happened to police, Nassar said they can get the image taken down through civil court under the Intimate Image Protection Act.

“It’s important that people know that they’re not alone,” she said.

“It’s important to increase knowledge about the resources that are available so when young people find themselves in the situation that they are being extorted or they don’t know where to go, [they know] there are resources available.”

CLI’s RISE program has legal navigators who can assist victims with the process and connect them with other resources.

The non-profit is also launching a new cyberbullying education program soon that Nassar said would also support people who had their images shared without consent.

Police said people who share intimate photos without consent and are convicted can face up to five years in jail.