An Argentinian model has spoken out in solidarity with Tiziana Cantone, the Italian woman who was subjected to online abuse and then killed herself after explicit images and a video of her were widely shared across the country.
Belen Rodriguez has said she had a miscarriage after suffering similar abuse when an explicit video of her leaked online.
“When I heard the news of that girl’s suicide, I cried because a similar thing happened to me and I know how horrible it is," she said, The Daily Telegraph reports. "I was depressed for two months, I couldn’t leave the house because I was so ashamed and I lost my baby."
The video was viewed hundreds of thousands of times after it was made public in 2011.
“I’m perhaps the only person not to have watched the video," Ms Rodriguez, who currently lives in Italy, added.
"I was very young and I did all I could to erase it but I wasn’t able to. The absurd thing is that even now, you can see that video with just the click of a mouse."
Ms Cantone is said to have sent six different videos, including one of her performing a sex act on a man, to a handful of trusted acquaintances.
The images and videos began to appear on porn sites and spread virally on social media, along with jeering comments, edited screenshots and cruel video parodies, many using her full name.
Tormented after the footage went viral, the 31-year-old changed her name, moved house and launched a successful "right to be forgotten" legal case, which forced Facebook to take down the abusive posts.
Following at least two previous suicide attempts, she took her own life.
Her death has prompted calls for stronger internet privacy laws, with Italian MPs urging the government and social network providers to address "illegal acts that can no longer be passed off as childish pranks" thorugh legislation.
Four men are being questioned by police after a criminal investigation was launched by Italian authorities.
