Threatening to share revenge porn is set to become illegal

Threatening to share intimate images and videos is set to become an offence, the government will announce today.

As part of changes to the domestic abuse bill, perpetrators could face up to two years imprisonment for threatening to share intimate or sexual images or videos.

Sharing intimate images or videos without consent has been a crime since 2015, however threatening to share these images or videos has not been.

The change to the law follows campaigning from women and children’s domestic abuse charity Refuge who found one in seven young women have faced threats to share images without their consent.

Refuge’s director of communications and external relations, Lisa King, said this was an important moment for women and they were thrilled the government had recognised the need for changes to the bill.

She said: “This is a significant moment for women experiencing domestic abuse who have been threatened with the sharing of their private intimate images and we are thrilled that the government has recognised the need for urgent change.

“Our research found that 1 in 7 young women have experienced these threats to share, with the overwhelming majority experiencing them from a current or former partner, alongside other forms of abuse.”

Refuge’s The Naked Threat campaign was supported by Zara McDermott and Olivia Coleman. Over 45,000 people wrote to government ministers urging them to make a change in the law.

The domestic abuse bill is in its report stage this week and the government will include other changes to the bill.

Non-fatal strangulation, where an abuser restricts the victim’s breathing, is now set to become illegal and will carry up to five years in jail.

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce a £19million package for tackling domestic abuse as part of the Budget today.

£15million of this will go to programmes designed to stop perpetrators carrying out domestic violence and £4million will go to respite rooms in England, ensuring 132 more beds for victims escaping domestic abuse.

Featured image credit: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

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