Neighbours star Olympia Valance says she’s victim of ‘traumatising’ revenge porn hack
Australian actor said she is ‘tried of fighting’ after suffering ‘profound violation’
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Neighbours star Olympia Valance has revealed she is the victim of a “traumatising” hack that has seen her private photos shared without consent.
The Australian actor, who also appears in Playing for Keeps, issued a statement on Instagram, where she said the cyber crime has been taking place for more than a year.
Valance, 27, called the hack a “profound violation” and said it has “pushed her anxiety to a space it’s never been”.
“I have been dealing with this for a over a year now since my phone was compromised by a hacking of private images, which were then published online,” she said.
“I have since had to deal with this again recently, when new images were recirculated.”
Valance – who is the half-sister of actor and singer Holly Valance – said the hackers stole the photos “in order to humiliate, degrade, control and blackmail” her.
She said that coming forward with her story would help shine the spotlight on other such “abusive and criminal” revenge porn offences.
In July, a survey conducted by Refuge found that one in seven young women have received threats that intimate photographs of them will be shared without their consent.
As a result of its findings, the charity launched “The Naked Threat” campaign, which calls for the government to consider revenge porn as a type of domestic abuse.
“Taking intimate photos for yourself, or to share with a partner is not a shameful thing to do,” she continued, stating: “Stealing them and sharing them online without consent is.”
She said she was “tired of fighting” and refused to succumb to embarrassment or shame, adding: “We should be allowed to embrace our sexuality without fear that someone will take those images and manipulate them for their own gain”.
Valance said she was not “immune to these scandals” because she is famous, adding: “I hurt and I certainly feel pain.”
The actor thanked her family, friends, lawyers, psychologists and boyfriend, AFL player Tom Bellchambers, for their support.
If you have been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: mind.org.uk, refuge.org.uk, womensaid.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk, samaritans.org