Friday, September 21, 2018
YOUNGSTOWN
A group of local women who have given advice to
Facebook, butted heads with Google and have helped thousands of victims of image abuse – more commonly known as revenge porn – are celebrating the first anniversary of their organization.
Battling Against Demeaning and Abusive Selfie Sharing – BADASS – began a year ago after founder Katelyn Bowden of Youngstown discovered intimate images of her had been posted to the internet without her consent after an ex-boyfriend’s phone was stolen.
With little protection in terms of state legislation, the police couldn’t offer Bowden much help. Frustrated, she and BeLinda Berry, a friend whose images also were stolen and shared on the
internet, began the nonprofit BADASS to help victims of image abuse fight back.
By their first year, the group was responsible for having more than 9,000 images removed from the internet and identified more than 1,500 people who posed intimate images without the owner’s consent.
RRead more about the group and its accomplishments in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.