'I disappeared from my friends': Suffolk campaigner on the hidden impact of deepfake abuse
It's as part 2 of our investigation comes out today
Last updated 2nd Jul 2026
A woman who grew up in Suffolk says she "disappeared" from friends and withdrew from everyday life after discovering intimate fake images of herself had been shared online without her consent.
Jodie, which isn't her real name, is one of the voices featured in the second part of Deepfaked, a new documentary exploring one of the fastest-growing forms of online abuse, this can be found here.
Part 1 of the series, heard from five women all sharing their experience of being targeted with AI image abuse. Influencer, and former Love Islander Cally-Jane Beech, MP Jess Asato, broadcaster and former reality star Narinder Kaur, poet and author Helen Mort and journalist Jasmine Oak.
This raw and honest conversation puts the experience of victims of deepfakes front and centre, and calls for action against perpetrators and tech giants.
Now a survivor campaigner, Jodie has spent years pushing for stronger laws around intimate image abuse after discovering dozens of manipulated images of herself had been posted online.
Her story
The email looked ordinary enough. Inside was a link. When Jodie clicked it, she found photographs of herself on a pornographic website and online forums and dating profiles, containing photographs of her and women she knew,
Some had been taken from her social media, others had been manipulated into sexually explicit images she had never taken.
As she searched through the site, she recognised around 20 women whose images had also been shared or manipulated.
"It looked so much like me," she told us.
"I knew I hadn't taken those photographs or videos... but it still looked like me.
The abuse didn't stop when she closed her laptop, instead, Jodie says it slowly seeped into every part of her life.
"I was so scared to leave my house and for people to recognise me that I made myself smaller."
She questioned who had seen the images. Whether strangers recognised her. Whether colleagues had come across them online.
"It beats you down," she said.
"It makes you smaller.
"It makes you want to share less, do less, be around fewer people.
"I disappeared to my bedroom. I disappeared from my friends. I disappeared from being sociable."
Although the images were fake, she says the impact was anything but.
"I was so scared to leave my house because I thought everybody knew."
Going to police "there's nothing they can do"
Jodie said she initially reported the abuse to police but was told no crime had been committed.
"I'd previously been to the police about these images to let them know that they were misrepresenting me, my image, that they were soliciting sex services, that they were pretending to be me on dating apps, which potentially put my safety at risk. And every time that I'd been to the police, I was told that without knowing who it was, there was nothing that they could do."
They then suggested Jodie reached out to the platforms she's seen these images on and ask them to remove them.
"As a victim is really difficult because not only are you dealing with the aftermath of, you know, finding these images, which is so devastating, but then the burden of responsibility to get them taken down is also then passed to you and that was really kind of eye opening for me"
Jodie then went to a second police force. Where again, she says lack of legislation at the time prevent this from being persued as a sexual offence.
She said "This wouldn't fall under the Sexual Offences Act, this wouldn't fall under harassment or stalking, but that they did feel it fell under the Communications Act".
Fifteen women eventually provided statements during the investigation.
Betrayed
During all of this Jodie had been confiding in her friend Alex Woolf. He would later plead guilty to offences relating to misuse of a public communications network.
Jodie described the moment she knew it was him as "devastating." She'd figured it out he'd been behind it allwhen one of the images that had been shared on these platforms was one that she'ed only sent to him.
Woolf received a suspended prison sentence, a restraining order, community service, sexual rehabilitation therapy and compensation was awarded to each of the 15 victims.
Although she welcomed the conviction, Jodie believes the law at the time failed to reflect the seriousness of what happened.
"This isn't a communications offence," she said.
"This is a sexual offence and it should be treated as such."
Laws have changed
Since Jodie's case, the law surrounding intimate image abuse has changed significantly.
Sharing or threatening to share intimate images without consent has been criminalised through recent changes to legislation, while creating or sharing sexually explicit deepfake images without someone's consent is now also a criminal offence in England and Wales.
Campaigners have welcomed those changes but argue more work is needed, particularly around consent, enforcement and education.
Jodie believes legislation should move beyond debating what counts as an "intimate" image.
"It should ultimately just come down to consent," she said.
"If someone hasn't given their consent to have their image altered, it shouldn't be allowed."
'It's still a postcode lottery'
Despite changes to the law, Jodie believes victims can still face inconsistent experiences when reporting deepfake abuse.
"I would love to say that you should go to the police and they'll take you really seriously," she said.
"I think the reality is it's still a bit of a postcode lottery."
She added she does not believe all officers are yet equipped to deal with deepfake abuse.
Police response
We brought these concerns to the National Police Chief's Council. A spokesperson said:
“Creating and sharing sexually explicit images of someone without their consent is deeply pervasive and can have a traumatic impact on victims.
“Policing is working hard to maximise its powers and the use of technology to detect and investigate these crimes, and several perpetrators have been convicted for sharing sexually explicit images without consent, including deepfakes. It’s important that victims understand that these are serious crimes and feel confident in reporting offences to the police so that action can be taken.
“Tech-enabled crimes continue to evolve at pace, and policing alone cannot keep people safe online. It’s vital that under the Online Safety Act technology companies are held to account for the role they should play in removing harmful content from their platforms and working with law enforcement to stem the tide of online sexual abuse.
“We know that these crimes disproportionately affect women and girls, so we must also see greater education for young people around topics such as consent and healthy relationships, to stop this harmful behaviour from developing in the first place.”
Education 'the biggest preventative'
Jodie believes education remains one of the most important ways of preventing abuse.
"I think education is always going to be the biggest preventative for this," she said.
She argues the issue extends beyond schools
"The education process starts in the home," she said.
Advice for victims
For anyone discovering fake intimate images of themselves online, Jodie says there is support available.
"My biggest piece of advice would be just to protect your peace," she said.
"If you're not able to get the images down or you don't know how to, definitely reach out to the Revenge Porn Helpline.
"There are people that really care. You're not alone."
Home Office comments
A Home Office spokesperson said:
“This government has taken unprecedented steps to tackle this appalling form of abuse – including making the creation of non-consensual intimate images, including deepfakes, a criminal offence. We are also introducing a world-leading ban on AI ‘nudification’ tools and a legal requirement for tech companies to remove intimate images shared without consent within 48 hours of being flagged.
“We keep our response under constant review and will always ensure victims are protected and perpetrators face justice.”
Help and Support
If you've been affected by deepfake abuse or intimate image abuse, support is available through:
Advice on reporting offences is also available through your local police force.