Abusers who share intimate images without consent to face up to 6 months in prison
Abusers, predators and bitter ex-partners who share intimate images online without consent of those depicted will face jail time under new measures announced today (27 June 2023).
New amendments to the Online Safety Bill will protect victims of so-called “revenge porn” by changing current laws which require the prosecution to prove that perpetrators shared sexual images or films in order to cause distress.
Removing the need for lawyers to prove the intention of distress will make it easier to charge and convict someone who shares intimate images without consent – putting more offenders behind bars and better protecting the public. Those found guilty of this base offence have a maximum penalty of 6 months in custody.
And where it is proven a perpetrator also intended to cause distress, alarm or humiliation, or to obtain sexual gratification, they could face a 2-year prison term. Offenders found guilty of sharing the image for sexual gratification could also be placed on the sex offender register.
The reforms follow the campaigning of Georgia Harrison, who was the victim of image-based abuse at the hands of her former partner, and Dame Maria Miller MP as well as recommendations from the Law Commission, to introduce reforms to the laws covering the abuse of images.
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Chalk KC, said:
Campaigner Georgia Harrison said:
For the first time, the sharing of ‘deep fake’ intimate images – explicit images or videos which have been digitally manipulated to look like someone else – will also be criminalised.
Deepfakes typically involve the use of editing software to make and share fake images of a person without their consent, which are often pornographic in nature.
This type of image has been increasing in recent years with a website that virtually strips women naked receiving 38 million hits in the first 8 months of 2021.
Minister for Technology and the Digital Economy, Paul Scully, said:
Research shows 1 in 7 women and 1 in 9 men aged between 18 and 34 have experienced threats to share intimate images, with more than 28,000 reports of disclosing private sexual images without consent recorded by police between April 2015 and December 2021.
By broadening the scope of current intimate image offences through the Online Safety Bill, more perpetrators will face prosecution and potentially time in jail.
Justice Minister, Edward Argar, said:
Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, said:
Ruth Davison, CEO of Refuge, said:
The overhaul of intimate image law builds on government action in recent years to better protect victims and bring more offenders to justice. This includes making ‘upskirting’ and ‘breastfeeding voyeurism’ specific criminal offences, extending ‘revenge porn’ laws to capture threats to share such images, and using the Online Safety Bill to create an offence specifically targeting ‘cyberflashing’.
The government has committed to bringing forward wider reforms around intimate images, following the Law Commission’s detailed review, as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Notes to Editors