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‘Revenge porn’ – my private photos have been leaked, what are my legal rights?

We have all read the horror stories.  An individual sends sexually explicit pictures of themselves to a partner, lover or other person.  In many cases that sharing may have been consensual, in the context of a relationship.  In other cases the victim may have been exploited, harassed or otherwise pressured into sending the images against their will.  The recipient then shares the images more widely without consent, leading to devastating consequences.

The statistics show a worrying and sharp rise in these incidents in recent years, with a particular spike in reports when the covid-19 lockdown began in 2020.

Although this is often called ‘revenge porn’ in the media, a more accurate term is image-based sexual abuse (IBSA), or intimate image abuse.  It is important to consider these actions often occur in a wider context of sexual abuse and/or domestic violence.  They should be considered serious sexual offences.  It is clear that they often have a devastating and long-term impact on victims.

Everybody has the right to control how their personal information is shared – and the fact that you have shared intimate/sexually explicit material of yourself with another does not mean you have consented to those images being shared publicly.

Our specialist solicitors have the expertise to represent victims of this type of abuse.

Criminal law

s.33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 makes it a criminal offence to share a private sexual photograph or film if the disclosure is made without consent and with the intention of causing distress.   If the victim is under 18 then the law considers this to be a much more serious offence, (possession of indecent images of children under s.1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978.)

Unfortunately there are legal loopholes which mean that charges are often not brought.  There is also a concerningly ignorant attitude amongst police officers who often think that victims have somehow “brought it on themselves” by taking the pictures in the first place.  It is important that this decision-making is challenged.  We have considerable expertise and experience in using the Victims Right to Review (VRR) scheme as well as judicial reviews on behalf of victims of sexual offences who want to ensure their abusers are prosecuted in the criminal courts.

Civil claims

Victims have a right to bring civil claims against individual perpetrators who have shared their images.  The Courts have held that the law of “intentional infliction of harm” applies in the context of image-based sexual abuse.  Victims are able to claim for compensation for the distress they have suffered, as well as obtaining a court injunction to ensure the material is removed and not shared again.  The Data Protection Act / GDPR also offers similar remedies.  It is also possible to obtain an anonymity order so that the victim is not named in the legal proceedings.  If the material is being hosted, for example on a social media platform or a pornography website, legal action may also be required against them to have the material taken down.

Our solicitors are well versed in these issues, and are able to offer a multi-disciplinary approach combining the expertise of our human rights and commercial litigation departments.  Depending on your circumstances and what type of action needs to be brought legal aid may be available, and we are experts in obtaining public funding for clients in unusual circumstances.

If you are a victim of this type of abuse and want to assert your legal rights, do not hesitate to contact us.

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