Responding to the federal government’s new proposed offences to sort out intimate picture abuse, Emma Pickering, Head of Expertise-Facilitated Abuse and Financial Empowerment at Refuge stated:
Refuge has campaigned extensively for intimate picture abuse to be correctly recognised by the justice system, and we welcome the federal government’s long-awaited measures to sort out the creation of intimate photographs with out consent via new laws.
Intimate picture abuse is a deeply violating type of tech abuse which has a devastating affect on survivors, no matter whether or not the pictures are actual or not. Survivors of this type of abuse are sometimes left feeling socially remoted, with long-term damaging penalties for his or her psychological well being and wellbeing.
We’re happy that the federal government will make the creation of sexually express ‘deepfakes’ a felony offence, however we urgently want clarification on the specifics to make sure that survivors might be correctly protected. We urge the federal government to take a consent-based method to make sure that an offence is decided not by the perpetrator’s intention, somewhat by whether or not or not the sufferer consented to the picture being made. Equally, while we welcome the introduction of recent offences to criminalise the taking or recording of intimate photographs with out consent, we have to see additional particulars, together with how a perpetrator’s intention might be assessed the place that is related.
It’s of paramount significance that these offences are accompanied by measures to enhance enforcement. Though the sharing of intimate photographs has been unlawful since 2015 and following the success of Refuge’s ‘The Bare Risk’ Marketing campaign, threatening to share intimate photographs has been a criminal offense since 2021, perpetrators are not often held to account. Information revealed by Refuge in 2023 confirmed that conviction charges for intimate abuse stay woefully low, with solely 4% of instances reported to the police leading to perpetrators being charged.
On account of an enormous and unacceptable hole within the legislation, usually non-consensual photographs stay on perpetrators’ gadgets, even after a conviction. That is extremely distressing for survivors, and it’s essential that any new laws consists of provisions to compel perpetrators to delete any non-consensual photographs.
We urgently want trauma-informed coaching for all sections of the justice system, from the police and CPS to the judiciary. This should embody coaching on the intersection of tech-facilitated abuse and coercive management. We all know that many non-consensual express photographs are created by males recognized to the survivor, and the hyperlink with home abuse can’t be ignored.
Alengthy with others within the sector, we urge the federal government to not wait till Spring to introduce these measures. Delays put survivors in danger and it’s important that survivors of all types of intimate picture abuse can get the entry to justice that they deserve as swiftly as doable.
