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Is so called Revenge Porn illegal in England?

Hundreds of people in England have had explicit photos or videos published on the internet without their consent, with a number of high profile celebrity cases making the headlines and highlighting this deplorable action, but the question must be asked that in most cases the perpetrator is known but so few have been charged, so is their action illegal.

Revenge porn is not a new phenomena, long before the advent of the internet the distribution of images of a former partner were often posted to friends and family, it can be said that the internet and digital images have made the whole process easier, but always the same result to the victim.

Many victim of revenge porn are sympathetically told that no action can be taken, and in most cases the action cannot be reversed as the images or video are copies and copies again by other websites.

The truth is that revenge porn can be prosecuted under existing laws, what we do not have is a law that covers specially this act.

At the moment charges can be brought for harassment if multiple actions have occurred, these do not all have to be revenge porn, for example, one instance of revenge porn together with other forms of harassment could bring about charges. The perpetrator can be charged under the sex offences act, malicious communications act, protection of children act and the communication act, but in the past 2 years only 6 allegations have resulted in police action.

This we hope will change as revenge porn is to be made a specific offence in the criminal justices and courts bill which is expected to come into force in 2015.
Until the new rules come into force the crown prosecution service have update its guidance to raise awareness with the police, highlighting how prosecutions can be brought about.

In the UK there are over 30 web sites dedicated in distribution of revenge porn, we would like to see the owners and employees of these sites being made responsible and to face prosecution as well as those who have made the submission to the site.
Unfortunately the victims of revenge porn are often accused of being at fault, but signs of a shift in attitude are showing, and having a law especially for a crime shows that the action is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

The media has also helped when reporting cases like Jennifer Lawrence, branding it horrific, which is in stark comparison to how they reported Paris Hilton 10 years earlier.

We are pleased that the CPS has given clarity to the police on how prosecutions can be made and that the government are acting with a specific offence, we hope this goes far enough.

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