Revenge porn victims could get anonymity as government orders online abuse review
Written by News on 26/06/2019
Victims of so-called revenge porn could be granted the same anonymity as rape or sexual abuse victims.
Currently revenge porn – the sharing of non-consensual explicit images without the subject’s permission, is covered by communications legislation.
Campaigners say it should be brought into line with other sexual offences.
Now the government has asked the independent legal reform watchdog, the Law Commission, to examine existing legislation to ensure it is keeping pace with advancements in technology.
Along with revenge porn, it will cover a range of digital trends such as “cyber-flashing” – when people receive unsolicited sexual images of someone over the phone – and “deepfake” pornography – the practice of superimposing an individual’s face on to pornographic photos or videos without consent.
And it will examine 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.
Justice Minister Paul Maynard said: “No one should have to suffer the immense distress of having intimate images taken or shared without consent.
“We are acting to make sure our laws keep pace with emerging technology and trends in these disturbing and humiliating crimes.
“This review will build on our recent work to make upskirting and revenge porn illegal to protect victims and ensure perpetrators feel the full weight of the law.”
A specific law making upskirting illegal was finally introduced earlier this year. Up until that point existing legislation had meant victims had little recourse in law.
Campaigners against sexual abuse reacted with disappointment to the news of the government review, saying it would take too much time.
Rachel Krys, co-director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said: “While ministers claim tackling this sort of abuse is a priority, they launch a review which will take two years to report. Any new laws and protection are years away.
“Given the speed of technological change, how quickly online abuse evolves and how harmful it is right now, this is completely unacceptable.”
(c) Sky News 2019: Revenge porn victims could get anonymity as government orders online abuse review
