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But women’s advocates say the issue isn’t just about the three people and how their privacy has been violated through the public posting. It is more about the litany of online activity and the public shaming that has resulted.

“We need to move away from questions about collective conduct and ask what is it about our society that shaming, hating and turning on people online is a form of public entertainment,” said Rebecca Sullivan, head of women’s studies at the University of Calgary.

“We shouldn’t be discussing whether people should be doing this or not, we should be discussing why it’s OK for everyone to be so abusive. To the abusers: ‘What are you getting out of it, what are you achieving, and what is it about yourself that you like yourself as an abuser?'”

Sullivan goes on to argue that it is almost always women, particularly around the activity of sex, who are the ones most likely to be abused.

“Why is a woman’s sexuality public property, and why do we deny a woman’s right to have pleasure and her right to privacy?

‘The very simple answer is that we still live in a misogynistic, sexist society and until we admit it, we’re not dealing with it.

“It’s a culture that defines women based on their sexual value to men, and then abuses them for having it.”

Police spokesman Kevin Brookwell confirmed there is an investigation underway with police seeking who is involved and who posted the video, both of which are illegal.

Having sex in public falls under indecent exposure and is part of the Criminal Code, he said.