Those who post revenge porn videos and photos on the internet could face up to two years in prison, thanks to a new law announced today in England and Wales.
Anyone convicted of the greater charge of committing a sexual offence could face the stiffer penalty of up to 14 years behind bars.
An amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill today marks the first time that the distribution of intimate photos or videos of a former partner without consent has been classified as a specific criminal offence.
Until now, victims of revenge porn have had a hard time putting a stop to the spread of private images and video footage, often having to rely on inadequate copyright law rather than the existing Communications Act 2003 or the Malicious Communications Act 2003.
Beyond the use of copyright law, a victim’s options were quite limited. For a charge of harassment to stick, there had to have been more than one incident, and asking websites to remove images was rarely successful as many were located outside of the UK and failed to respond.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said:
We want those who fall victim to this type of disgusting behaviour to know that we are on their side. The fact that there are individuals who are cruelly distributing intimate pictures of their former partners without their consent is almost beyond belief. That is why we will change the law and make it absolutely clear to those who act in this way that they could face prison.
The new law will cover “photographs or films which show people engaged in sexual activity or depicted in a sexual way or with their genitals exposed, where what is shown would not usually be seen in public” shared via social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as via text messages. It will also be an offence to distribute physical copies of the images.
Some have expressed concerns about the new law’s implementation.
Neil Smith, a lawyer and head of dispute resolution at Lexis Nexis told BBC’s NewsBeat that he was worried about the volume of complaints that may now be forwarded to police forces that are not equipped to deal with them.
Some groups have also expressed the fear that thousands of young people may become criminalised.
The change in law comes as the UK government attempts to bring awareness to the issue of sharing inappropriate or private content online.
A new campaign – Be Aware B4 You Share – has been launched in partnership with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Woman’s Aid and UK Safer Internet, with its primary aim to educate potential sharers of such material and warn them of the possible consequences they may face.
Image of handcuffed man courtesy of Shutterstock.
