What is Revenge Porn?

In March 2021, Sky news reported on a survey carried out by law firm Slater and Gordon of 2,000 people which discovered that more than 40% of those surveyed knew someone who had been a victim of revenge porn.

Slater and Gordon said in the survey report that nearly one in 10 people admitted they had shared or threatened to share an explicit image, more than twice the number in 2019. Of those, one in five said they wanted to scare the victim, a quarter said it was just a laugh, and a similar number believed the image was their property to share.

Data insight company Statista conducted a study of victims of image-based sexual abuse in the United Kingdom in 2022. They found that women were significantly more likely to be victims of revenge porn than men throughout all age groups; 27% of victims of image-based sexual abuse were women between the ages of 30 and 39 years, whilst 15% of victims were women between the ages of 21 and 29 years.

Furthermore, 10% of victims of intimate image abuse in the UK were girls aged 16 years or younger. The highest share of male victims belonged to the 30 to 39 years age group, which accounted for 7% of victims.

What is revenge porn?

Revenge porn is not the legal name for this offence, but it is a term which is commonly used and understood. It is a sexual offence and typically, but not always, involves one half of a couple, or former couple, distributing intimate photographs of their, usually former partner, without their consent. It is referred to as revenge porn, as the act is often some form of payback for something the other partner did wrong or is alleged to have done wrong.

Reported cases of revenge porn have increased significantly in recent years as mobile phones are more powerful and most include a camera, so it has never been easier to share images. This has led to an increase in people sharing intimate images with their partners via social media, text and other instant messaging services.

Originally, a person might have trusted a partner enough to share such personal content with them and be reassured that the recipient would not act so maliciously as to share it with others. It is when these private images become public or there is a threat that they will become public without the consent of a partner that it is termed revenge porn.

Once an image is shared online, the poster loses control of where it ends up and the image could be reposted and shared reaching a massive number of viewers. Sharing a person’s image online can cause devastating effects on people’s lives and jobs, causing problems instantly and also for months and years to come.

People are spending more time on their phones so the temptation to send a photo to perhaps get your own back on an ex has never been higher. What might feel like a short-term win when you share a person’s image could actually cause serious complications and result in a prison sentence.

What is the law on revenge porn?

As with most sexual offences, the laws covering these offences are complicated and may in some cases be covered by more than one piece of legislation.

Aware of concerns about the criminal law in this newly emerging area of sexual offences, in 2015 the Government introduced laws to deal with revenge porn in section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, and made it “an offence for a person to disclose a private sexual photograph or film if the disclosure is made without the consent of an individual who appears in the photograph or film, and with the intention of causing that individual distress”.

According to the legislation, to prove that the offence of revenge porn was committed, a prosecution is required to provide several elements:

• The image or video is private – A photograph or video is considered to be private if it shows ‘something that is not of a kind ordinarily seen in public’.
• The image or video is sexual – Section 35(3) of the Act outlines that a photograph or video is sexual in nature if:
  – It shows all or part of someone’s exposed genitals or pubic area
  – It shows something a reasonable person would consider to be sexual
  – The content, taken as a whole, is such that a reasonable person would consider it to be sexual
  – Section 35(4) of the Act also relates to images or videos which have been edited. For example, if someone’s face has been edited onto a naked body, this will be treated in exactly the same way as if the photograph in question displayed the actual naked body of the person.
• The image or video has been disclosed – This means that, by any means, a person gives or shows it to another person or makes it freely available. This also applies if the method of disclosure was electronic, such as if it was shared via instant messaging, text messages or shared on social media.
• The image or video was shared with the intention to cause distress – Causing distress by simply sharing an image or video is not necessarily enough evidence in itself. In theory, a person cannot be prosecuted for revenge porn if they share an image with a third party when they genuinely believed that the person depicted wished for that to happen. Similarly, if it can be shown that someone alleged to have committed revenge porn accidentally shared an image or video with the wrong person, this is unlikely to be enough to warrant an intention to cause distress.
• The image or video was shared without consent – The Act states “Consent includes general consent covering the disclosure, as well as consent to the particular disclosure”. The Act does not explicitly state any further information on situations where more than one person is involved, or if consent is not obtained by all involved, whether someone could claim that they are a victim of revenge porn.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 amends section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 to the effect that alongside the disclosure of private sexual photographs and films the threat to disclose such material becomes an offence.

Threatening to disclose intimate sexual images can, in many circumstances, already be covered by a range of existing offences such as stalking, harassment, malicious communications or blackmail, or be captured by the controlling or coercive behaviour offence under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015.

There is also a risk that a threat of revenge porn could become blackmail. Image-based sexual abuse is sometimes motivated by the desire to maintain control. The perpetrator may be trying to force you to stay in a relationship by threatening to share images.

It may be an offence of blackmail if someone uses intimate images or threatens to circulate intimate images of you to control you and make you do something you don’t want to, such as participate in sexual activity, which is sometimes called webcam blackmail. It is a criminal offence for someone to blackmail you and if someone is blackmailing you, you can report it to the police.

Blackmail is when someone makes unwarranted or unjustified demands of you with threats in order to get something from you or to cause you loss. The maximum sentence for blackmail is up to 14 years in prison.

Cases involving revenge porn may also be considered for prosecution by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) under the social media guidelines and under the following legislation:

• Stalking and harassment offences under S2, S2a, S4 and S4a of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
• Offences under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (where the image was taken before the subject turned 18).
• Unauthorised access to computer material under section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

What are the consequences of revenge porn?

Sentencing for the offence of revenge porn often involves a prison sentence, as both a deterrent and punishment. It carries a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment and they may also be liable to pay a fine. This criminal conviction would remain on their record and could affect future employment prospects.

The consequences for the victim of revenge porn can be far ranging and can sometimes have a life-changing impact. Many suffer powerful and complex feelings, emotional distress and anxiety as a result of being a victim of revenge porn. This is compounded by the fact that, once the videos or photos are shared and made public, there can be a constant fear of exposure.

Victims of revenge porn often feel violated, vulnerable, and deeply distrusting of others and may struggle to start new relationships because they are understandably anxious about letting their guard down.

Revenge porn victims may:

• Become depressed.
• Contemplate suicide.
• Develop anger issues.
• Develop social anxieties.
• Develop trust issues.
• Experience nightmares.
• Experience panic attacks.
• Isolate themselves.
• Misuse drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism.
• Self-harm.

What constitutes revenge porn?

The law on this offence is complex. Above are detailed the various legal elements that the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) take into consideration when deciding whether to prosecute someone for the offence of revenge porn.

The content can be shared in a multitude of ways including, in-person, through texts, emails and messages, on social media platforms, porn sites and in group chats. Anyone can fall victim to revenge porn, and the exact instances may vary.

Here are some celebrity examples:

• Pamela Anderson and musician Tommy Lee are credited with starting the sex tape phenomenon in 1995. But the film was stolen, and Anderson sued the video distribution company. The couple later entered into a confidential settlement agreement with distributors.
• Hotel heiress Paris Hilton, American socialite Kim Kardashian and former Saved by the Bell actor Dustin Diamond have also had sex tapes posted online.
• In 2012, Tulisa Contostavlos, the then X Factor judge, accused an ex-boyfriend of betraying her by putting a sex tape showing the pair in an intimate moment on the internet.
• Denise Van Outen has revealed how she was a victim of revenge porn when she was just 15 years of age when her ex-boyfriend filmed them without her consent. The ex tried and failed to sell the tape to a newspaper in the 1990s because the date revealed she was under the legal age of consent in the UK.
• Prince Harry became the subject of nude images leaked to the press during a weekend break to Las Vegas when he was pictured partying naked in a £5,000 per night hotel. The Prince later said he had let his family down but he was not happy about the coverage of the event in the press as he was in a private area.
• Meghan Markle also became a victim when an account tweeted two photos that claimed to show Meghan in various states of undress; they are likely to be fraudulent, but are definitely illegal as posting explicit photos without the subject’s consent is unlawful.
• The Duchess of Cambridge, now the Princess of Wales, found herself at the centre of unwanted attention when French magazine Closer published shots of her sunbathing topless on the terrace of a French chateau. Several British outlets refused to print the pictures.

It is not revenge porn if someone shares a sexual or private photograph or video of you in order to prevent, detect or investigate a crime. So, for example, someone might need to show a sexual photograph or video of you to the police to help them investigate a crime.

The law states that it is not revenge porn if the photograph or video is shared for the purposes of journalism. For example, a private photograph of you could be published in a newspaper as part of a news story if the person who shared the photograph reasonably believed it was in the public interest. This was not the case with the photographs of Catherine, Princess of Wales.

The law also states that it is not an offence for someone to share a photograph or video of you if they believed that it had already been shared or published, with your consent and that you had been paid. For example, if there is a photograph of you on a pornographic website, someone might see it and assume you have consented to it being posted and been paid for the photo.

They might then share it with someone else. That is not an offence. However, if the person who originally posted the image did so without your consent, they may be guilty of an offence.

What constitutes private and sexual materials?

Private means anything that is not usually seen in public. In law, sexual means anything that shows a person’s genitals or private areas and anything else that is considered to be sexual by a reasonable person.

Private and sexual materials could include an image that depicts an individual’s exposed genitals, or a picture or video of someone who is engaged in sexual behaviour, or posing in a sexually provocative way, or depicting any part of the body if what is shown is not of a kind ordinarily seen in public.

What to do if you have been a victim of revenge porn

First, understand that if you have been a victim of revenge porn, this isn’t your fault and you haven’t done anything wrong. Intimate image abuse is a crime and the police can investigate. This crime can be committed by anyone and anyone can be a victim. You can go to a local police station or call the non-emergency number 101 to report your case. You should collect evidence, take screenshots and collect direct URL links to where the content has been shared online.

Report the content to the platform or website where the content has been shared. The Revenge Porn Helpline is a specialist helpline that can provide support for victims and can help with getting the content removed. They help those 18 years old and older in the UK. If you are under 18 you should report the issue to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP). They specialise in supporting children and young adults with these types of issues.

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 compensation for the distress they have suffered, as well as obtain 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.

Final thoughts

For anyone who has been a victim of revenge porn or who knows someone who has, finding support from professional services or friends and family can be helpful during distressing times.

Useful contacts include:

• Revenge Porn Helpline 0345 6000 459. Advice, information and help getting images removed.
• Childline Help and advice for under 18s. Childline can help you to get shared images removed from the internet.
• CALM – Campaign Against Living Miserably – The CALM helpline is open from 5 pm to Midnight 365 days a year, and you can get in touch by phone or webchat. Call on 0800 58 58 58.
• Samaritans Call on 116 123.

The SPITE project (Sharing and Publishing Images to Embarrass) assists victims of intimate image abuse by providing free and specialist legal advice to any resident of England and Wales. Email lac@qmul.ac.uk or Phone 020 7882 3931.