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A new ‘revenge porn’ law against taking, sharing or photoshopping sexually explicit photos of an individual without their consent should be created in Jersey, a top legal professor has said.
Jersey is currently in the process of reshaping its Sexual Offences legislation, and is inviting comments on the work it has done so far, which includes setting out clearer guidelines on pornography.
But Durham University’s Professor Clare McGlynn, a legal expert with particular expertise in explicit imagery, says that this doesn’t go far enough.
She’s calling for Jersey to catch up with the UK, and make a brand new offence against ‘revenge porn’.
Police told Express that distributing images of an individual – whether partner, ex-partner or otherwise – is currently prosecutable under harassment law, but Professor McGlynn says that creating a new and specific offence would help further discourage the move and give better protection to victims.
“The images are sexual and the harm comes from the fact that it is sexual images that are shared without consent; the images go viral because they are sexual. Non-sexual images would simply not have the same potency to cause harm and abuse; nor would thousands of others distribute the images unless they were sexualised. Further, the images often end up on pornography websites, some specifically focussing on ‘revenge porn’,” she wrote in a submission to a panel tasked with reviewing sexual offences legislation.
Pictured: Professor McGlynn said that 'revenge porn' has the potential to cause psychological damage to victims.
She pointed to the recent famous case of Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence as an example of where indecent photo sharing can cause serious harm. The star described the distribution of her naked images following an iCloud hack as “a sex crime.”
Professor McGlynn added: “The harassment and abuse which women suffer when their private, sexual images are shared without consent comes from the sexualised nature of the abuse and the sexual double standard when women are castigated for exercising sexual agency. Women suffer harassment and abuse because they have ‘allowed’ images to be taken, or they have taken images themselves. The online abuse that accompanies the distribution of private sexual images includes sexual threats (rape threats), as well as abusive comments about the victim’s appearance, body, sexuality and sexual agency.”
If made an offence, Professor McGlynn would like to see ‘revenge porn’ victims granted the same right to automatic anonymity as those of sexual assault and rape, which she says will help more victims to feel comfortable coming forward.
A ‘revenge porn’ law has been in place in the UK since 2016. The topic has become increasingly prominent in the public eye in recent years following the case of YouTube musician Chrissy Chambers who succeeded in a four-year court battle against an ex-boyfriend who secretly uploaded a sex tape online. She said that the ordeal left her with PTSD, depression, anxiety and issues with alcohol at the age of just 23. She has since become a vocal campaigner on the topic.
I could not be more elated to announce today that I won my revenge porn case and also asked the most incredible girl to marry me. That’s right -WE WON AND BRIA AND I ARE ENGAGED!!!!! I’m the luckiest girl in the world!!!!! pic.twitter.com/2de8xeGmcN
— Chrissy Chambers (@ChrissyChambers) January 17, 2018
Dr Helen Miles, the States' Director of Criminal Justice, told Express that a whole new law to tackle revenge porn was not needed.
"Although it is vitally important to tackle behaviour of this nature , including through the use of the criminal law, our analysis indicates that it is not necessary to create a new offence specifically for this purpose as one already exists.
"Article 51 of the Telecommunications (Jersey) Law, amended in 2017, can been used for distributing revenge pornography, including publishing of sexual images on social media. A person guilty of an offence is liable to imprisonment for a term of 2 years and to a fine. This brings our legislation in line with the amendments to the UK’s Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 regarding revenge pornography," she explained.
Professor McGlynn is also calling for laws on abuse of trust to be strengthened, as well as on voyeurism.
At present, the motives for voyeurism are linked with sexual gratification, but she says that an individual should be able to be found guilty of the offence even if this is not the case.
“As currently drafted, the offence of voyeurism requires the perpetrator to act for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification. This unduly limits the scope of the offence and fails to consider sufficiently the impact of offending on victims. Acts of voyeurism are undertaken for a variety of motives including financial gain, to cause distress or alarm, to gain notoriety or bonding among a group and for a ‘laugh’, as well as for sexual gratification. In each of these cases, the harm caused to the victim is serious and warrants criminal sanction,” she explained.
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