InDIsckreet
Are We Winning the Fight Against Revenge Porn?
There have been so many victories for victims of revenge porn. Most recently, American revenge porn website operator Kevin Bollaert was sentenced to 18 years’ prison. It seems a day doesn’t go by without a jurisdiction somewhere in the world passing a bill to outlaw the practice of posting nude photos online without the subject’s consent. So, are we winning the fight against revenge porn? Well, campaigners in the UK don’t believe so.
Lawmakers in England and Wales earlier this month introduced legislation making the malicious dissemination of explicit images punishable by up to two years in prison. The key word here being ‘malicious’. That’s right, to win a court battle, prosecutors must prove malicious intent. Some might argue that publishing intimate photos of someone online without their permission makes their motives clear as day, but lawyers disagree.

While, lawyers want a system that would allow victims to file for an injunction, forcing perpetrators to take down images. This legislation is a step in the right direction, but its light-handedness is far from the battle cry needed to fight such a heinous crime. The explosion of smartphones and social networking sites has given oxygen to a relatively new form of violence. Let’s at least give victims the dignity they deserve in the justice system.