Image-based abuse comes under many guises, each as terrifying as the last. Women around the world experience relentless threats over who gets to view, share, and profit from their images.

Esther, then a lingerie model, experienced this first-hand when a friend messaged her to ask if she’d joined OnlyFans. She had not. She soon discovered that her images, taken from a professional shoot, had been edited (or ‘nudified’), and posted on the adult content platform – without her consent.

Nudfication is the process of digitally removing clothing from a non-intimate image, making the person depicted appear nude.

Now a software engineer, Esther was working as a lingerie model when the photos were taken, but she had little control over how the images were used. While the photographer paid her for her time, she had no idea how he intended to use the images of her. She shares her story with GLAMOUR…

It’s been a while since it all happened. But now, I want to tell my story.

About nine years ago, I was working as a lingerie model while completing my studies at university. I was booked for a tour around Europe: I did a couple of shoots in London, then France, Spain, and finally Portugal. Balancing life as a student with my modelling wasn’t easy, but I made the time to study in the evenings or when travelling to shoots.

I had two days in Portugal; the first was a day of relaxation, a day just for me, which I spent relaxing at the beach. Before any shoot, you sign a form which outlines where the pictures will be used – and who will have access to them.

After I signed this form, I did a semi-nude, classic shoot (with my intimate parts covered) at a villa, which we chose for its beautiful high ceilings and vintage interior design.

When I left the shoot, it was strange. I asked the photographer how long it would take to edit the photos. I said I’d like to include them in my portfolio. At that time, I was only paid by the photographer for my time – I didn’t financially benefit from the photos themselves. He never got in touch with me.

For the next two weeks, I kept trying to contact him. And he kept ignoring me. I checked a site connecting freelance models with photographers and saw that he had been online. He had posted and edited photos online, but he hadn’t got back to me.

A month later, I saw that he had posted some of the photos on his Instagram account. I didn’t like them. You could see dark shades on my shoulder and a bit of belly roll.

Seeing my body on his Instagram account was awful; there were no edits and the light shade on my face was off. I felt ashamed and belittled – it felt like my face was on another person’s body. It was outrageous.

Shortly after, a friend asked, ‘Oh Esther, did you get OnlyFans?’ I knew instantly that something was wrong. It suddenly made sense why the photographer was ignoring me – he’d uploaded my images to OnlyFans without asking. I was horrified but, weirdly, relieved: my intuition had been right all along.

I said that I don’t use OnlyFans; I don’t need it – I don’t want anything to do with that. My friend screenshotted a few of the photos and sent them to me. They were photos of me taken in Portugal. I was shocked. This time, the photos were edited – or nudified – to show my breasts, and you could see my nipples coming out. I didn’t consent to this. I called him, but again, he didn’t reply. When I emailed him, he replied, saying that I had agreed he could use the photos as he wanted, but I knew we had agreed he wasn’t to use them for pornography.

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