Europe UK (Commonwealth Union) – Abusers, predators, and bitter ex-partners placing intimate images online with the consent of those depicted will face jail time under new measures recently made public.
The Online Safety Bill’s latest amendments aim to provide enhanced protection for victims of “revenge porn” by revising existing laws that require prosecutors to establish the intention of causing distress through the sharing of sexual images or films.
By eliminating the necessity for lawyers to prove the intent to cause distress, the process of charging and convicting individuals who share intimate images without consent will become more streamlined. This change will result in a higher number of offenders being incarcerated, thereby bolstering public safety. The maximum penalty for those found guilty of this offense is currently 6 months of imprisonment.
Moreover, if it can be proven that a perpetrator intended to cause distress, alarm, or humiliation, or sought sexual gratification through their actions, they may face a prison term of up to 2 years. Offenders found guilty of sharing the image for the purpose of sexual gratification may also be included in the sex offender register, providing additional safeguards for the public.
Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, says “Intimate image abuse causes significant distress to victims and survivors and often exists as part of a wider pattern of abuse that continues offline.”
“I am pleased to see these changes in the Online Safety Bill that will hold perpetrators to account for this insidious form of abuse and hope to see it pass soon.”
The government has made a commitment to introduce comprehensive reforms regarding intimate images, based on the thorough review conducted by the Law Commission. These reforms will be implemented as soon as there is available parliamentary time. A key stumbling block to many new legislations according to many digital experts is hackers getting access to personal content, as any content placed on a device that has internet access is vulnerable to hackers.
