Tackling Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Expanding and Improving the Criminal Justice Response to a Growing Problem
(Ended 15th Jun 2023)

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Date of Event: Thursday, June 15th 2023

Time of Event: 9:30 AM — 1:00 PM

Place of Event: Webinar

The number of reported child abuse image offences recorded by police in the UK has risen to over 30,000 in the most recent year, according to a recent report from the NSPCC, an increase of more than 66% on figures from five years ago, when police forces recorded a total of 18,574 such offences. According to a report by Refuge, ‘The Naked Threat’, published in 2020, one in 14 adults have experienced threats to share intimate images in England and Wales, rising to one in seven among young women. The Covid-19 pandemic led to a surge in incidents of image-based abuse, with the Revenge Porn Helpline’s 2021 report of cases and trends finding that cases increased by over 40% between 2020 and 2021, rising from 3,146 cases to 4,406. Refuge’s research has also found that 83% of women who experienced such threats from a current or former partner have also experienced other forms of abuse, situating image-based abuse within the broader context of violence against women and girls (VAWG).

In 2015, ‘revenge pornography’ was made a criminal offence under section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015. The UK government also set up the Revenge Porn Helpline in February 2015, with the aim of supporting victims. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 amended section 33 to include threats to disclose images without consent, with the intention to cause distress. In recent years, the government has also made ‘upskirting’ a specific criminal offence, and used the Online Safety Bill making its way through Parliament to create an offence specifically targeting ‘cyberflashing’. The Law Commission has undertaken a review of the existing criminal law relating to taking, making and sharing intimate images without consent, publishing in July 2022 its recommendations to strengthen the law to protect victims of intimate image abuse, proposing that several new offences be established. This would include a base offence prohibiting the taking or sharing of intimate images without consent; the more serious offences of taking or sharing with the intention to humiliate, alarm or distress the person, or for sexual gratification, and threatening to share such images; and the offence of installing equipment in order to commit a taking offence. The government confirmed its intention to implement the Law Commission’s recommendations, firstly by putting forward an amendment to the Online Safety Bill which would criminalise the sharing of a person’s intimate images without their consent. The government has said it intends to implement a more comprehensive package of measures covering additional Law Commission recommendations.

However, many have called for more to be done to protect victims of image-based abuse. Campaign group #NotYourPorn have warned against a narrow view of such abuse, raising awareness of instances of ‘revenge porn’ in which the intent is not to cause distress, but rather is done without the intention of the survivor ever finding out. As such, there have been calls for more to be done to target the rise of ‘collector culture’, in which intimate images of women are posted, collated and traded. Meanwhile, End Violence Against Women have called upon the government to give greater attention to the online abuse of women and girls in the Online Safety Bill, asking that the issue be explicitly named in legislation and that social media platforms be required to take action in this area. Refuge have also warned against legislation that requires proof of intent with regard to the sharing of intimate images, due to the varied and overlapping nature of such motivations and the difficulty of proving this in court.

This symposium will provide an invaluable opportunity for stakeholders to review existing legislation and discuss further ways to tackle and deter image based sexual abuse. Delegates will also explore methods to raise awareness of the harms of such abuse and develop strategies to support survivors.

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