Stephen Bear has been convicted of breaching the terms of a restraining order obtained by his ex-girlfriend Georgia Harrison. The former reality TV star pleaded guilty to the charge after launching an online campaign against Harrison, who had previously secured the order following Bear's conviction for uploading a secretly recorded sex tape to OnlyFans.
Online campaign after prison release
Bear, who was released from prison in early 2024 after serving half of a 21-month sentence, used social media to accuse Harrison of being part of a conspiracy against him. He claimed his original guilty verdict was the result of a hidden plot. Some of his posts were viewed millions of times and included images of Harrison along with defamatory statements.
Harrison, who was pregnant at the time, said she was left distressed and traumatised by the campaign. However, she chose not to attend court for the hearing, explaining her reasoning to The Sun: "I didn't go to court this week. I didn't stay away because it's too hard. I stayed away because being there would give him the one thing he has always wanted, and the one thing the manosphere machine runs on: attention. A reaction and a spectacle."
Harrison's activism and the manosphere
Harrison first rose to fame on Love Island in 2017 but has since become an activist for women's safety, earning an MBE for her work. She has long campaigned for better legal protections against revenge porn and image-based abuse. Following the breach, she launched the Georgia Harrison Foundation to tackle the online culture that allows the manosphere to fester.
The manosphere, a term describing online communities that promote misogynistic views and traditional gender roles, has been linked to figures like Andrew Tate. Harrison said the system rewards attention over consequences, and she wanted to focus on changing the culture rather than watching Bear go to prison again.
Police response and statistics
Detective Constable Swarv Stafin, the investigating officer, described Bear's actions as "not okay" and said they "should not be normalised or accepted." He noted that the impacts of harassment, including stress and anxiety, are something no one should have to experience. Stafin added that Bear "knew very well" what he was doing was wrong, as he pleaded guilty to breaching the order.
The Revenge Porn Helpline recorded 22,275 reports of private images being shared online last year, a rise of 20.9% on the previous year, highlighting the scale of the issue.
Political support
Labour MP Jess Phillips backed Harrison, saying her courage was something "most people will never be asked to find." Phillips praised Harrison for working to change the law regarding revenge porn and continuing to fight for women and girls. She called the manosphere an "industry that monetises contempt for women and grooms boys to follow."
Bear was given a five-year restraining order forbidding contact with Harrison after his original conviction. His latest guilty verdict marks a further breach of that order.
