BEIJING, China (AFP) — Thousands of men allegedly shared intimate photos and videos of their girlfriends without consent on the Telegram messaging app, Chinese media reported, sparking widespread outcry against secret filming and calls to better protect women.

Pornography in China is illegal, and conservative social attitudes towards women remain the norm, often reinforced by state media and popular culture.

It comes after a Chinese university expelled a female student this month for “damaging national dignity” over videos posted by a Ukrainian esports player on Telegram suggesting they had been intimate.

The Chinese state-owned Southern Daily reported this week a woman had discovered that photos of her taken unknowingly had been shared in a Telegram forum with over 100,000 users, mostly Chinese men.

Members of the forum also shared photos of their girlfriends, ex-girlfriends and wives, according to a commentary in the Guangming Daily, an outlet backed by China’s ruling communist party.

Revelations of the group have sparked widespread outcry online.

“We are not…’content’ that can be randomly uploaded, viewed and fantasised about,” read one comment on Instagram-like Red Note.

“We can no longer remain silent. Because next could be me, or it could be you.”

A related hashtag has been viewed more than 230 million times on social media platform Weibo since Thursday.

The largest group, called “Mask Park”, has since been taken down, but smaller spinoffs remain active, according to women contacted by Southern Daily.

Telegram encrypts its users’ messages and is banned in China, but it is accessible using a virtual private network.

AFP has contacted Telegram for comment.