Revenge Porn in the UK

Laws around the making and sharing of non-consensual intimate images are to be reviewed under plans to ensure protections keep pace with emerging technology.

Justice Minister Paul Maynard and Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright have asked the Law Commission to examine whether current legislation is fit to tackle new and evolving types of abusive and offensive communications, including image-based abuse, amid concerns it has become easier to create and distribute sexual images of people online without their permission.

The review, which will be launched shortly, will consider a range of disturbing digital trends such as 'cyber-flashing' -- when people receive unsolicited sexual images of someone over the phone -- and 'deepfake' pornography -- the degrading practice of superimposing an individual's face onto pornographic photos or videos without consent.

The move builds on government action in recent years to better protect victims and bring more offenders to justice, including making 'upskirting' and 'revenge porn' specific criminal offences.

The review will also consider the case for granting automatic anonymity to revenge porn victims, so they cannot be named publicly, as is the case for victims of sexual offences.

Tackling sexual offences is a priority for this government, and in many cases this behaviour will already be caught by a number of existing offences such as 'voyeurism' under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

However, ministers are committed to ensuring the right protections are in place for the modern age, and alongside the review, a public consultation will be launched on strengthening the law -- seeking views from victims, groups representing them, law enforcement, academics and anyone else with an interest in the issue.

This review is part of joint work between the Ministry of Justice and Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport and Government Equalities Office to consider reform of communications offences, examining the glorification of violent crime and the encouragement of self-harm online, and whether co-ordinated harassment by groups of people online could be more effectively addressed by the criminal law.

The House of Lords has agreed unanimously to make revenge porn a criminal offence in England and Wales.

The sharing of a private sexual image of someone without their consent and to cause distress will be punishable by up to two years in prison, Justice Minister Lord Faulks said. The change to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill covers sharing of physical and online copies, and text messages.

MPs must approve the plans before they can become law.

Faulks said the disclosure of revenge porn was extremely distressing and left victims feeling humiliated and distraught . A new offence was needed to punish this pernicious practice and provide an important means of redress for victims of this cruel behaviour .

If passed into law, the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill will define revenge porn as 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 .

Update: Vengeful Scotland

23rd October 2014. See  article from  scotsman.com

The Scottish Government's has announced that it is actively exploring the creation of a new law to tackle the growth of so-called revenge pornography.

The Scottish Government said yesterday that existing laws could be used to prosecute offenders, but the fact that new legislation is in the pipeline is recognition that a bespoke law is required.