The Instagram page intends to condemn the abuse and trending messages that are spread on the platform dedicated to the sale of used clothes.
“How beautiful your breasts are”, “I wanted to ask if you are ready to exchange photos between women”, “Very beautiful nipples”… These are the messages received by dozens and many users of the platform. dedicated to the sale of used clothes, Vinted. Since April last year, the Instagram account was baptized @balancetonvinted.fr, decided to reveal these messages in broad daylight. Launched by a certain Anna (31), this profile, which is followed by almost 558 subscribers, intends to denounce the rampant sexual and moral harassment on the app.
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Set free was able to speak with the young woman at the beginning of this story, who herself had been the victim of numerous “awkward, inappropriate and sexual” requests. “It has been getting worse for three years. These are the same types of messages with the same approach,” he explains every day, citing his critical users from all over the world (the site operates in 16 countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium or the United Kingdom).
It was in the midst of the spread of these messages that Anna decided to talk about it first on her personal Instagram account, and then on a special account in January 2021. This is “to better collect the testimonies of other victims and thereby make this problem more visible”. “Within 24 hours, I had over 1,500 subscriptions, which shows that this really is a structural problem, and not just isolated cases,” he explains alongside the site. meat . “For obvious reasons, we draw your attention to the fact that some of the measures we have taken cannot be shared and disclosed, risking that the perpetrators of offenses become aware of them and find ways to circumvent them. them.
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Porn forums
However, sexually explicit messages aren’t the only scourge of the app, and criticism is growing. In his columns, Set free reveals that many users found their photos on pornographic forums. The pictures were originally posted to resell their clothes and were removed from the platform without their consent. A discussion thread on the social networking site Reddit, since closed, would have made photos of even the smaller ‘Vinties’ available to netizens.
On June 16, a woman wrote on Twitter: “I’ve blocked about thirty guys on Vinted because I’ve gotten sexual/harassing messages for photos to be posted on a reddit porn thread and NO ONE DOES ANYTHING!” And add: “And I’m not the only one, am I?” We really are a hundred chicks in this case, including the OVERsized ones. There are complaints that have been filed, but again we have to fight to fight against the brutal behavior of men.
More than 19 million users in France
Second-hand clothing resale platform became popular in 2008. Founded in Lithuania and chaired by Dutchman Thomas Platenga, it promises its customers to breathe new life into their clothes. “You don’t wear? Sell it,” urges his famous ad. With 19 million users in France alone and 16% more articles posted online in 2021 (compared to 2020), Vinted can thus congratulate itself on succeeding in its bet. But at what cost?
Source: Le Figaro
