It’s not hard these days to procure compromising positions of someone you are sharing a bed with, since it is now common practice amongst many folks to whip it out and snap it without thinking too hard about it. In certain circles, this is considered foreplay.
A new form of abuse has emerged – revenge porn. People – most often men – with hurt feelings send or post pictures or video of their former lover to humiliate them in front of friends, family, their employer, and the general public at large.
A Senate inquiry into revenge porn has set out some recommendations, with those including new laws. The inquiry has found there is a definite need for legislation on the issue, despite the fact that Victoria already has laws in place for such eventualities.
What exactly is revenge porn?
Revenge porn is the non-consensual sharing of consensually- or non-consensually taken private (naked or sexual) images of a person in a compromising position, intended to humiliate or embarrass as a form of revenge. Typically, the person sending these images around is a disgruntled former partner.
Sexism, double standards, and abuse against predominantly women
Women are most often (but not always) the victims of revenge porn, largely due to a persistent and prudish social view that women’s sexuality and chastity is more precious than a man’s, and therefore her being publicly shamed for being sexual is believed – by her and others – to do real damage to her reputation and social standing.
Women are slut-shamed in many ways, with revenge porn a new way to get up to old tricks, since men don’t suffer the same social repercussions if pictures of them are spread around.
Legal ramifications
Revenge porn currently has very little legally behind it in most places – the general consensus until lately has been ‘too bad -you let them take those photos’, which is unfair, and once again slut-shaming and victim-blaming largely women, while leaving the perpetrators blame-free.
Revenge porn is becoming such a psychologically damaging problem that the legal system has had to step in, with revenge porn becoming a specific criminal offence in more places.
Revenge porn is considered a serious breach of privacy, and late last year, a NSW parliamentary committee was set up to investigate what sort of protections could be put into place to deter people from sharing images without the consent of the person in the picture, and depending on their age, what the punishment should be. At least making it illegal, the committee said, was a good start.
How the government criminalises revenge porn
The law may either specifically ban revenge porn, or prohibit a broader offence that includes revenge pornography offences. The United Kingdom, South Australia and Victoria already have specific laws that protect residents against revenge porn, with Victorian law specifically refers to ‘intimate images’ in legislation.
The UK discusses private sexual photographs, South Australia speaks of ‘invasive images’, and NSW talks of ‘indecent articles’, allowing for a broader range of material besides photos, such as video or audio. Some NSW police in certain country areas have taken to destroying mobile phones with images on them.
If you are involved in a revenge porn case, contact us today for sound legal advice. We can help.
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