Some of us might know influencer Christabel Chua (also known as @bellywellyjelly) for her fashion and beauty content, in addition to snippets of her travels and daily life.

Sadly, an incident that occurred a few months ago saw a flagrant and offensive violation of her privacy.

In an open letter on the Singapore edition of Harper's Bazaar, Chua finally opens up on what the past few months have been for her.

Ready to address the situation

She starts by explaining how she has been using the past few weeks to come to terms with the situation.

Now, Chua is finally in the "right headspace" to address the issue, which she feels is important.

The purpose of this letter, she writes, is to stand with other victims of sexual harassment.

Ramifications

Since the incident broke, Chua has received numerous sexually explicit messages from anonymous accounts on social media.

To this date, she still gets them.

Suddenly, she became a subject of crude discussion on the forums.

Fearing that any action would escalate the situation, Chua recalls that she felt "scared, violated, and humiliated".

Angry messages were even sent to her friends, family, and clients, and the internet — once a platform for her to spread joy and happiness  — became a major source of "pain and torment".

It was only with the love of her friends and family that she managed to stay afloat.

"Lack of basic human decency"

Among the torrent of emotions, Chua reveals that the one she felt most keenly was disappointment.

The incident has shown her the best and worst of humanity, including the blatant disregard for privacy and lack of basic human decency displayed by certain individuals.

In her words:

"I stand against cyber bullying and sexual harassment. And I certainly condemn the reckless sharing of private material in celebration of humiliation and amusement."

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Words of solidarity

She ends of with words of solidarity and encouragement for other victims who have been through the same situation.

You may read her full letter as well as the legal remedies that victims can seek on Harper's Bazaar here.

Top image from Christabel Chua's Instagram

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