Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords have moved one step closer to criminalising the sharing of revenge porn following the tabling of a new amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. The revision, which makes it an offense to publish a private sexual image of another identifiable person without their consent, focuses specifically on the distress caused to the victims.
The amendment was tabled by Lib Dem Peers Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames, Baroness Grender, Baroness Brinton&Baroness Barker. The proposal follows a hard fought campaign by Lib Dem MP, Julian Huppert, who has previously highlighted the issue in the commons and campaigned for a change in the law.
The amendment is expected to be debated on 22 October 2014, during the report stage of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill.
Revenge Porn Campaigner Hannah Thompson said: "It made me really ill to see that my ex-boyfriend had published pictures of me online. I remember thinking at the time that this must be illegal. When I found out it wasn’t I started my campaign to ban revenge porn but I never thought anyone would listen to me. I was so pleased when the Lib Dems picked it up in the House of Commons. The law needs to be changed and I am glad to see that we have a real chance to make this happen."
Commenting Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman Julian Huppert said: "I have campaigned vigorously to make a criminal sanction available when people share indecent images in the knowledge that consent would not have been given. Without these measures more people will unfairly suffer at the hands of malicious former partners."
Baroness Olly Grender commented: "It is vital that we act in the House of Lords to criminalise revenge porn and protect that victims of this heinous practise. Ultimately this isn’t about the sexual nature of the images but about the embarrassment and shame felt by those that have their privacy breached in this way. I am grateful for the work my Lib Dem colleague Julian Huppert MP has been doing in the Commons to both raise awareness of this issue and lead the fight for it to be criminalised. I must also congratulate Hannah Thompson who was brave enough to get in touch and ask Julian and I to change the law."
