In the wrong chat: in which cases will they be judged for personal photos
Care should be taken when sending racy messages, not only for fear of ruining your reputation. Intimate images and links can cost money and even freedom. Izvestia figured out in which cases they would have to answer according to the law and how to deal with shame and worries if they happened to enter the wrong chat.
What can you be sued for?
You can find yourself in an awkward situation for various reasons, but you will have to answer according to the law if the incident violates the rights of other people and goes beyond the closed community. There are already precedents with court decisions regarding the distribution of explicit photos. So, in St. Petersburg, a woman sent juicy pictures of colleagues to a work chat. The servants of Themis "estimated" this act at a fine of 100,000 rubles. But a resident of the Krasnodar Territory was sentenced to one and a half years of probation for publishing intimate photos of his ex-wife in a chat with an audience of 300 people, and then doubled his sentence, despite remorse and apologies. The man had to answer for the illegal distribution of pornography and information constituting a personal secret on the Internet.
From now on, such judicial practice keeps law-abiding citizens on their toes, who may lose their peace of mind by accidentally sending a juicy picture to a virtual community.
Lawyer Pavel Korniako advises first of all to understand what pornography is and what types of crimes and administrative offenses can be provided for in the field of legislation protecting intimate life and resisting the dissemination of such materials.
Pornography is an obscene, crudely naturalistic image, verbal description, or demonstration of people's sexual life. By pornographic materials, legislation may mean videos, movies, printed publications, images, or some kind of stories. The dissemination of such information is punishable, in particular, by Article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Illegal production and trafficking of pornographic materials or objects," comments Pavel Korniako.
To determine the essence of the content, special examinations are conducted — art criticism, literary criticism, sexology, and others. And if experts recognize the material as pornographic, then the distributor (voluntarily or involuntarily) will have to bear responsibility. The consequences depend on many circumstances. And in order to understand exactly what kind of responsibility will come for a particular action, it is necessary to understand the differences between a crime and an administrative offense.
"There are many legal issues, but the main role will be played by the public danger of the act,— Korniako continues. — By crime, we mean more serious actions that have entailed a special social danger: encroachment on the legally protected interests and rights of citizens, profit-making, and large audience reach. In this case, you will have to answer for the crime provided for in Article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
The presence of malicious intent and an unlimited number of people who receive a piquant message makes it possible to regard the act as more dangerous. When the guilt of the violator of the law is proven, criminal liability will ensue. Depending on the severity of the act, the attacker will have to pay a fine or go to jail.
"If a person uploaded information to a small chat or sent it to someone, then the degree of public danger here is not as high as if it were broadcast to an audience of millions," the expert explains. — We are already talking about the administrative structure (Part 3, Article 20.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation "Minor hooliganism"). Administrative liability in the form of a fine is provided for such a public demonstration of pornographic materials.
If the offense is teetering on the edge between an administrative offense and a criminal offense, then the investigation and sentencing assesses the nature of the material posted, the publicity of the chat, as well as the intentions of the offender. Not in all cases, you will have to answer strictly.
— An illegal act, of course, should be punishable, but there are certain legal mechanisms to terminate the case. For example, due to insignificance or in connection with the active repentance of the offender, as well as in the absence of intent, which indicates the absence of corpus delicti. But this, again, depends on the specific circumstances," the lawyer comments.
Do I need to respond to a random message
You can make a mistake with the chat, as well as the door, by coincidence. As a rule, in such cases, a person feels awkward and apologizes. And if the explicit image was sent to the chat by mistake, it should not entail fatal consequences, the expert believes.
— A healthy reaction of society in this case is if people laugh or resent verbally, and do not sit down to write statements about the insult in their best feelings. It is clear that there are some misunderstandings in every person's life," says Pavel Korniako. For example, if someone stumbled on the road and used a harsh word out of resentment or pain, this does not mean that such an emotional outburst should immediately be classified as an offense.
Thus, punishment for nuances in parental, official or other chat can be avoided if you apologize and repent in time. Moreover, such an act does not attract either a crime with its pronounced negative consequences, or minor hooliganism, since it was initially devoid of any intention to demonstrate offensive content to society.
How to survive the shame
But even if the scandalous situation has come to naught, the memories of it make many burn with shame and suffer from mental anguish. Shame develops in early childhood and gradually forms over the course of a person's life, Anna Guseva, a practicing psychologist, explained to Izvestia. It is associated with awareness of social norms, expectations, and standards that guide society.
— The first steps of a healthy person, if he has done something "wrong", is to pull himself together and address colleagues with a polite apology, — says Guseva. — Ask to delete the message or photo if only the administrator can do this, or contact technical support. In a large corporation, it is advisable to notify the management if the situation is not entirely pleasant. And then, to avoid this, review your privacy settings and take other possible measures.
If the situation is exhausted, but the feeling of awkwardness does not go away for a long time and the person "gnaws" himself from the inside, it means that he is characterized by increased anxiety. One of the main signs of this feature, the psychologist considers the need to constantly apologize for any actions.
— Shame is a natural reaction of the psyche, but everything should be in moderation. First you need to realize and accept your shame, and then it is important to stop scolding yourself. In particular, for the fact that this feeling arises. It is important to understand: what happened is gone," explains Anna Guseva.
The psychologist advises you to listen to your "inner critic." If the accusations sound too harsh, and a person has suicidal thoughts, then you should immediately seek help from a specialist.
"There are simple affirmations that help you stop worrying and pull yourself together," the psychologist continues. — For example, you say in front of the mirror: "How good, young and handsome I am," increasing your self-esteem. Also use cognitive techniques. Look for arguments for and against your guilt, as if you were playing the role of both a lawyer and a prosecutor. It is useful to look at the situation from two sides. It happens that even an annoying oversight turns into a plus.
The expert also recommends using emotional practices such as massage techniques, meditation, and spa treatments. It's good to keep a diary. All this helps to get rid of tension.
— But doping in the form of intoxicating substances only increases the feeling of shame and perpetuates it, — says the psychologist. — And every time later, when a person experiences this feeling, he will reach for doping. This is how dependencies arise.
Anna Guseva emphasizes that it is necessary to "live out" the feeling of shame as much as possible — by yourself or with the help of a specialist and with the support of sympathetic people.
— It is possible and necessary to share experiences with loved ones, — the psychologist encourages. — It strengthens trust, destroys the illusion of loneliness, weakens thoughts of shame. And we should try to learn as much as possible from an awkward situation. Think like this: "It's better to survive this event than to get into a worse situation. But this experience will teach me to be more careful, reasonable and calm."
Is it possible to get rid of anxiety
It is impossible to go into social phobia, this can lead to further post-traumatic syndrome: constant worries, headaches, hypersensitivity to stress, as well as avoiding situations reminiscent of the incident. People quit, cut off social ties, and their lives go awry. Someone has a persistent anxiety and fear of something bad, even if it never happens.
— We begin to scrutinize ourselves, compare ourselves with others, and so on. In this case, it is important to track your symptoms before, during, and after an unpleasant situation. Does anxiety arise, do you feel excessive or unreasonable fear, do you do everything necessary and unnecessary to avoid the situation, the psychologist suggests.
It's not easy to survive an unwanted embarrassment. This period of healing of mental wounds lasts for six months if a person is over 18 years old, and may take a long time for minors, so they need maximum support.
— I would like to draw your attention to the fact that shame is a very effective tool for manipulation. And ill-wishers will not hesitate to take advantage of it if you get stuck in an unpleasant situation for you, you keep thinking about it. In this way, you simply contribute to its further development. Thanks to mirror-neural connections, people read your emotions and experiences. So you will constantly remind yourself of your embarrassment, subconsciously inflate the situation, turning it into a core for provocation," the expert warns.
Teenagers and creative people are especially prone to such endless self—flagellation - they need to be helped especially carefully. In any case, time heals and puts everything in its place. A new day is coming, and with it come other tasks, so you can smile and continue to live in peace, the psychologist summarizes.
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