More Than 200 Prosecuted Under New Revenge Porn Legislation

A Crown Prosecution Service report on crimes against women indicates that more than 200 people have been prosecuted since new revenge porn legislation came into force in England and Wales last year.

It became an offence to share private sexual photographs or films without the subject's consent in England and Wales in April 2015, with a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment.

The CPS's annual Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) report has been produced since 2007. The latest reports show 206 people were prosecuted for disclosing private sexual images in the first year of the offence.

Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said changes in the way sexual offences are prosecuted had helped improve conviction rates.

While welcoming the report, Rachel Krys from the End Violence Against Women coalition also said: "The majority of women and girls subject to these crimes do not report them to the police, and the specialist services which support them are fighting for survival."

Women's Aid chief executive Polly Neate said the increase in prosecutions and convictions was because "survivors of domestic abuse are starting to have more confidence in the criminal justice system,” while Rebecca Hitchin from the charity Rape Crisis said some sexual offence victims may still be reluctant to come forward through a fear of not being believed or because of a "potential for backlash" from family and peers.

Call for victims to get anonymity

An ICM poll suggests that three-quarters of people think victims of the offence should be given automatic anonymity – a move which would bring it in to line with other sexual crimes.

The law introduced in April last year does not treat the offence as a sexual crime – and girls, men and women who are victims face being re-victimised if a suspect is arrested and charged, say campaigners.

Campaigners are also concerned that victims are not supporting prosecutions because of fear of online reprisals if they come forward.

Dr Clare McGlynn, a professor at the centre for gender equal media at Durham University, which carried out the research, said: “Automatic anonymity for all victims . . . is vital in the interests of justice to ensure increased reporting and prosecutions."

The Home Office has previously rejected calls to make it a sexual offence, which would give victims lifetime anonymity.

Karen Bradley, then minister for preventing abuse, outlined in a letter: “Whilst victims can in some circumstances feel violated by the malicious disclosure of sexual images, the offence is not a sexual one . . . We do not consider automatic anonymity is necessary or desirable.”

Threats could be made a crime

A former Lib Dem cabinet minister has proposed the criminalisation of the threat of circulating revenge porn and the lowering of the evidence threshold to bring England and Wales in line with Scottish law. Former Scottish secretary Alistair Carmichael says the law in England and Wales has not kept pace with the increase of malicious exploitation of explicit images without the subject’s consent.

The proposed changes would also make it an offence to promote, solicit or profit knowingly from such private material.

Students help victims

A service run by law students and staff at Queen Mary, University of London combines legal know-how with social media savvy to help victims of the offence.

Spite (sharing and publishing images to embarrass) is part of the university’s Legal Advice Centre, which offers members of the public legal advice from student advisers under the supervision of qualified lawyers. Spite has so far advised around 80 such victims from all over the country.

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