A B.C. influencer has been ordered by B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal to pay a woman $20,000 after he shared intimate images of her online without her consent.
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The influencer, Sherif Elbishlawi, operates an Instagram account with over 100,000 followers, showing him approaching women outside nightclubs. This includes locations such as Vancouver’s Granville Street.
The Ruling
Elbishlawi’s Instagram account often features videos of him convincing women to allow him to lift them into the air, wherein their bottoms are exposed to the camera. Women who are wearing skirts often have the clothing moved away to expose their underwear.
The trial’s applicant— known by the initials ZD— said that Elbishlawi shared these intimate images of her without her consent. She said that the video was taken while she was drunk, and that she asked Elbishlawi to not post the videos. Reportedly, he “either ignored those requests or insisted on meeting the applicant in person first because, as he stated, ‘I don’t do favors for strangers.'”
According to the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal’s ruling, Elbishlawi “disagrees that the images that he shared were intimate images. He also says the applicant agreed to create and share the images.”
The ruling further states that the respondent has not apologized, and he maintains that he committed no wrongdoing.
“I find the respondent’s conduct likely exacerbated the harm the applicant experienced,” notes the ruling.
While ZD was seeking $35,000 in damages, the ruling ultimately decided that “the less explicit nature of the videos supports the lesser side of the spectrum of intimate image abuse.” But since the videos received thousands of views, and thus does not appropriately fit in the lower end of the spectrum, $10,000 in compensatory damages are being awarded. Moreover, $5,000 in aggravated damages and $5,000 in punitive damages are also being awarded.
In all, ZD is being awarded $20,000 in compensatory, aggravated and punitive damages.
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