In a post shared across her social media channels, actress, model and entrepreneur Olympia Valance opened up about her own personal experience as a victim of cyber crime.

The 27-year-old posted a lengthy statement on 20 August, confirming private material from her phone having been hacked and shared online without her consent.

“I am writing this as confirmation that I know I have become a victim of cyber crime,” she said opening her statement.

“I have been dealing with this for over a year now since my phone was compromised by a hacking of private images, which were then published online.”

The statement which was shared by many inspired more people to stand by the famous star and find the courage to share their own struggles with the same criminal offence.

The rest of her story below:

“I have since had to deal with this again recently, when new images were recirculated, retraumatising me and pushing my anxiety into a space it has never been.
Image based offences are considered abusive and criminal acts. Such offences involve leaking (in my case hacking) images without consent in order to humiliate, degrade, control and blackmail a person. As a victim of this, I have had to fight to try and contain these images from reaching the broader public and for media not to publish stories using my name.
2020 has been challenging for us on every level, and this time has really rocked me. Taking intimate photos for yourself, or to share with a partner is not a shameful thing to do. Stealing them and sharing them online without consent is. We should be allowed to embrace our sexuality without fear that someone will take those images and manipulate them for their own gain.
You may be part of the majority who have no idea what I’m talking about. If you are in possession of these images or have access to them, please know that these photos were hacked and stolen from my phone. They were private images not meant for you, or for the public eye. Imagine the level of profound violation if this happened to your daughter, your sister, or to you. I am a public figure, but I am also a human being. I am not immune to these scandals. I hurt and I certainly feel pain. Like many other women who are also victims of this heartless and intrusive crime, I have to come to terms with these pictures being circulated beyond my control.
If you actively search for these photos, shame on you. If you’ve actively shared these photos amongst your mates, shame on you.
If I didn’t have my incredibly supportive boyfriend, my loving family, my fierce friends, my lawyers, management, psychologists and the angels at Image Cyber Crime, I know I would have not coped through this. To all of you, and you know who you are, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for lifting me up when I was at my weakest.
I hope that sharing some of my soul will help bring this broader topic of conversation to light. I have had days where I have been exhausted and where the depths of my sadness have scared both myself and the people I love. I want to be at peace. I am tired of trying to fight. Despite having the police involved, legal representation and my management team, we have not been able to contain these images from being distributed. So, now I want to take some control back and use my voice for good. For positive change. There are women all over the world that have been standing up in recent times to say enough. I am part of that tribe. We are strong, resistant and powerful women. We have to figure out a way to stand together and say it’s the hacking and distribution of illegally obtained images, not the taking of them that is shameful. I also ask that the media respect my privacy and not perpetuate the illegal sharing of the images or contribute to a victim blaming narrative.
I’m not ashamed.
I’m not embarrassed.
I will not apologise.
I have done nothing wrong.