This week, the Government is introducing a series of new laws designed to ‘stop cowardly perpetrators from hiding behind a screen and thinking that means they’re able to facilitate abuse with impunity.’
Three new amendments to last year’s Crime and Policing Bill were presented to Parliament yesterday, focusing on what Alex Davies-Jones, Minister for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls, has called an ‘epidemic’ of ‘horrific behaviour’.
Building on the bill’s legislation around image-based sexual abuse (such as banning strangulation and suffocation pornography) these additions will make it illegal to screenshot intimate videos without consent, and to create or share ‘semen-defaced’ images without consent.
Depictions of incest will also be banned from porn sites, whereas currently only incest itself is a criminal offence.
Once these new rules — which are currently at the report stage in the House of Lords — come into effect, each will carry a sentence of up to six months in prison or a fine, while Ofcom will have the power under the Online Safety Act to take action against sites hosting unlawful content.
‘Abuse of victims is ever-evolving in the online world and the offline world,’ Alex tells Metro. ‘We need to act, and we need a criminal justice system that’s fit for modern times.’
According to the MP for Pontypridd, these amendments are the latest step in the Government’s efforts to have the rates of violence against women.
Here, we break each one down.
Screenshotting intimate videos
Under the new law, it will be illegal to screenshot intimate images or videoswithout consent, whether that’s video calls or content sent using time-limited applications, such as Snapchat or Instagram ‘disappearing messages’.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
Most notably, this will be the case whether or not you share the images — ‘closing the loophole’ to make possession itself, even for ‘personal use’ a criminal offence.
Alex explains: ‘When platforms are failing to act to protect victims and to keep people safe, we will step in.
‘So, if an image is taken of you without your consent via a screenshot, when you only chose to send it once, or a video call, where it’s not meant to be a static image, you can report that to the police.
‘We would expect them to use the full force of the law available to them pursue the perpetrator and hold them accountable. And we would also expect Ofcom, as a regulator, to hold the platform accountable.’
In addition to this, the courts can issue deprivation orders, meaning the offender has their devices seized to ensure the images are properly deleted.
Semen-defaced images
Also known as ‘tributing’ or ‘doughnut-glazing’, this typically involves the depiction of semen on an image of another person, shared to suggest the perpetrator has masturbated to the victim’s image.
‘It’s not just happening to celebrities or politicians,’ says Alex. ‘This is happening to everyday women, all the time. And this is about power and control; it is a violation to degrade and abuse victims.’
The new legislation will cover all semen-defaced images, including those created using AI, and regardless of whether the victim is fully-clothed or ‘in an intimate state’.
It also applies to ‘semen-like substances’, meaning there’s no requirement for the victim or courts to prove exactly what it is — the intention is enough.
Victims will again be able to report this to the police and social media platforms, who will have 48 hours to remove offending images before receiving Ofcom sanctions.
Depictions of incest
‘The possession of this horrific material does lead to real world harm, and there are links to child sexual abuse as a result of this,’ says Alex.
In fact, she recently met with a woman whose father was was looking at depictions of incest in porn, then ‘creating elaborate stories of abusing her, and posting them online.’
‘Her story will stay with me forever,’ Alex adds. ‘But sadly, there are far too many victims and far too many perpetrators, which is why the government needs to act.’
The creation and possession of porn showing incest, whether those appearing are actually related or not, will be banned under the new law.
‘Step-family’ content is not currently included in the legislation, but Alex says the Government will be conducting a ‘broader review [around extreme pornography] and looking at what more needs to be done’ in future.
She continues: ‘It’s becoming normalised in society, and that is a problem. We want everyone to be aware of what a healthy consensual relationship is, which is why this is also part of our violence against women and girls strategy around education and prevention.’
‘This isn’t down to the criminal justice system to fix either; we can criminalise these behaviours, but if we don’t treat the root cause of them via education and cultural change, then then we’re not going to fix the harm this is causing.’
After the Online Safety Act came into force late last year, some critics argued it limited their freedom of expression.
However, Alex refutes this, saying: ‘This is simply about what is consensual first and foremost, and what is classed as abuse and violation. That is what the government is cracking down on.
‘I’m not here to tell anyone what they are able to do in their bedroom when it is safe, legal and consensual. But what I am here to do is prevent abuse and violence against women and girls, and ensure they feel safe both on the internet or in the real world.’
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
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