206 people prosecuted for revenge porn

A Crown Prosecution Service report on crimes against women shows that 206 people were prosecuted for disclosing private sexual images without consent in the year 2015 -16, ending March. Abuse online is pervasive, and young victims are particularly vulnerable.

Alexandra Whiston-Dew, a solicitor at Mishcon de Reya, notes that increased convictions under the new law demonstrate that victims and the police are becoming increasingly confident in tackling revenge porn. She states that it is important that victims are encouraged to report online abuse, despite the uniquely humiliating nature of this offence which can devastate an individual and their families.

"Victims often experience guilt if they consented to or even took the private sexual image of themselves and sent it to their partner during the course of their relationship. And yet it is unsurprising that people do this - it is a small step for those comfortable with expressing themselves through technology, via socially acceptable sexually provocative selfies, to share more revealing private images as part of a consensual sexual relationship."

For over a year, Mishcon de Reya has supported a pro bono initiative with Queen Mary University, SPITE (Sharing and Publishing Images To Embarrass), to try to address the phenomenon. Whiston-Dew says:

"In our experience, the far reaching nature of social media causes victims crushing public humiliation and often has serious consequences in both their personal and professional life. The law in England and Wales still does not provide effective tools to deal with the full range of offences committed online. Revenge porn is no exception."