The anonymous deepfake porn victim named campaigner of the year

The young woman who helped change Britain’s laws on deepfake pornography after becoming a victim herself has been recognised as campaigner of the year at the Sheila McKechnie Foundation Awards, alongside teenagers who saved their beloved youth centre from closure.

The annual awards, which celebrate grassroots campaigners driving social change, were held at the University of Westminster in London and brought together activists whose victories began with deeply personal experiences and grew into movements with national impact.

The evening’s biggest winner was Jodie, who posed for photographs hiding her face behind a bouquet of flowers. Her anonymity was important. In 2021, when she was 23, Jodie received an email from a stranger containing links to pornographic images bearing her face. She recognised one photograph used to create them: it had come from a picture of her and her best friend to which only he had access.

“It traumatised me,” she said. She found out her friend had posted requests on an online forum asking users to create sexually explicit images of her and then shared them online. When Jodie reported the abuse, the response exposed the gap between rapidly developing technology and the law. City of London police told her no crime had been committed. The Metropolitan police eventually pursued the case, but only under the Communications Act, rather than recognising it as a sexually motivated offence.

As she investigated the forum herself, Jodie discovered she was not alone. The perpetrator had targeted many women from his social circle, including university friends and acquaintances Jodie had met through him. She painstakingly contacted each victim and 15 eventually joined her in a legal case.

She said “they were very lucky”: the group secured a conviction and a lifetime restraining order, but the outcome felt inadequate. “Most women don’t even get that,” she said. The offender received a suspended prison sentence and community service and was required to attend therapy, yet was not placed on the sex offenders register. “It wasn’t enough,” Jodie said.

Rather than retreating, however, she channelled her anger into campaigning. She named herself Jodie after watching Jodie Comer in the play Prima Facie, about sexual assault and the justice system. “Jodie works because she’s this kind of faceless being that could be anyone,” she said. “She could be your neighbour, she could be your friend, she could be your sister.”

Working alongside Prof Claire Glynn, Baroness Charlotte Owen and advocacy organisations, she helped push for reforms to laws around intimate image abuse, ensuring that creating or soliciting deepfake sexual images without consent is now recognised in legislation. “There’s still more that needs to be done,” she said. “But it’s definitely a lot stronger than it was.” Her campaign shifted the focus of the law from proving a perpetrator intended harm, which is “almost impossible”, to establishing whether consent was given. In her acceptance speech, she was greeted with a standing ovation as she told the room: “I can’t overstate the tenacity of an angry woman.”

Elsewhere at the awards, another winning campaign demonstrated how persistence can triumph even when the odds appear overwhelming. A group of giggling teenagers from Ramsgate’s Pie Factory youth centre were honoured for their years-long effort to save the building after Kent county council announced it was being sold. For the young campaigners, aged 17 to 20, the centre was “a second home” for Molly, and for Luke a “family”.

When news of the proposed sale emerged, these teenagers and youth workers launched a campaign that combined fundraising, political lobbying and public storytelling. They organised quiz nights, concerts, social media campaigns, sponsored sleep-outs and a cross-country cycle challenge.

“We locked in,” recalled Luke, 18. One fundraising sleep-out saw them spend a freezing night in cardboard boxes outside the centre. “It wasn’t this cushy experience,” said Jacob, 17, with a laugh, remembering catching a bad cold. Another campaign raised more than £5,000 through a 240-mile bike ride linking youth centres across England. Despite fighting for their own future, the campaigners made a point of supporting other youth groups along the route.

“Even while struggling, resources were going to help others,” Jacob said. The campaign drew support from local MPs, artists, musicians and former youth centre users. Community memories stretching back decades were transformed into poems, songs, podcasts and sound installations celebrating the role the centre had played in local life.

Eventually, local authorities and regeneration partners stepped in with funding that enabled the building to be purchased rather than sold at auction. The victory ensured the youth centre would remain open for future generations.

This year’s winners are:

Campaigner of the year Jodie Campaigns, recognised for helping strengthen laws against deepfake intimate abuse images after becoming a victim of image-based sexual abuse herself.

Campaign of the year All Kids Count, a campaign by the End Child Poverty Coalition calling for stronger action to tackle child poverty and ensure every child has access to the support they need.

Best consumer rights campaign Help to Repay, a campaign by the Money Advice Trust to improve protections for people struggling with debt repayments.

Best use of law Unlawful Isolation and Segregation of Children in Custody, a Howard League for Penal Reform campaign challenging the use of isolation and segregation against children in detention.

Best community climate & nature action Save Danes Moss, a grassroots campaign that successfully fought to protect a threatened area of peatland and wildlife habitat in Cheshire.

Young campaigner award Save Our Youth Centre, a campaign led by young people at Pie Factory Music in Ramsgate to save their youth centre from closure and secure its future.

David & Goliath award Scotland for Decrim, a campaign advocating the decriminalisation of sex work in Scotland.

Amplifying voices award Making Oracy Inclusive, a campaign by the Speech, Language and Communication Alliance working to ensure children and young people with speech and language challenges can fully participate in education and public life.

Creative changemakers award Public Interest, a theatre project by Common/Wealth that uses performance and storytelling to explore power, democracy and public participation.

Long-term achievement award Zrinka Bralo, founder of Migrants Organise, honoured for decades of campaigning on behalf of migrants and refugees in the UK.

Photographs by Antonio Olmos for The Observer