Deeply pained following the wide circulation of the videos, Ruby was diagnosed with depression and had to undergo psychotherapy. She says, “I felt like I lost something - perhaps my confidence. For one year, I did not talk to people. I felt like there was nothing for me to say.” Ruby felt deeply betrayed by Yu, whom she had once trusted. At the height of the video scandal, Ruby began losing modelling assignments and product endorsements. She says, “I had been working for five years and I did not expect to lose my job … I just bought a house and I had to pay for the balance.” In addition to the four videos of Ruby, more sex videos featuring Yu and other women were uploaded as well. Ruby was the only one who took the case forward; however, instead of being lauded for her bravery, she was seen as airing her dirty laundry in public. Her privacy maliciously invaded, she continued to suffer from abusive comments online. Seeking Justice In May 2009, six months after the videos were made public, Ruby and her two lawyers filed a complaint with the National Bureau of Investigation, which recommended the case to the Department of Justice. A criminal case against Yu was filed in court under the Anti-Violence against Women and Children Act, charging the doctor with videotaping sexual intercourse and uploading the video without Ruby’s consent. Simultaneously, Ruby filed a civil medical malpractice lawsuit against Yu, and a libel case against his mother for slanderous statements she made in a TV interview. In December 2009, the criminal court dismissed Ruby’s case on the grounds that Ruby was aware she was being filmed, and that the uploading of the video could not be traced back to Yu. One possible reason for the dismissal was the absence of any legal provision for ICT-based violence against women at the time. This weakened Ruby’s case. Furthermore, the accused was not required to testify, which Ruby believed biased the courts against her. However, in November that year, following Yu’s suspension by the Philippine Medical Association, the Professional Regulations Commission revoked his medical licence, securing at least partial justice for Ruby. In their attempts to discover who originally published the leaked video (it turned out that the clinic owner and others had access to Yu’s hard drives), the NBI tracked down the first website that uploaded the video - fleshasiadaily.com, a porn site based in Cavite, a province on the southern edge of metropolitan Manila. The website owners claimed they received the videos from an unknown address; however, because intermediary liability law is unclear, they were not compelled to share the address with law enforcement agencies. 26 <End Violence: Women’s Rights and Safety Online>

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