More intimate photos shared without consent in P.E.I. than any other province: Stats Can
CBC
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."
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.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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