More Jurisdictions Making Moves On ‘Revenge Porn’ Legislation
Monday 28 November 2016 @ 1.35 p.m. | Legal Research
The criminalization of so-called ‘revenge porn’ is being discussed in several jurisdictions, with several reviews being announced in the last few months. South Australia and Victoria have already introduced legislation specifically targeting ‘revenge porn’. The latest state to make changes to the laws is Western Australia, with the Restraining Orders and Related Legislation Amendment (Family Violence) Bill 2016 (WA) passing both Houses of Parliament in the last month. New South Wales has also announced that it intends to introduce new legislation dealing with ‘revenge porn’, and has just completed a public inquiry into a discussion paper it released earlier this year. This week, the Commonwealth Government has also announced it is considering introducing new civil penalties for ‘revenge porn’ and will release a discussion paper on the topic next year.
The WA Bill
Introduced into the Western Australian Legislative Council in September this year, the Restraining Orders and Related Legislation Amendment (Family Violence) Bill 2016 included a number of amendments to legislation dealing with family and domestic violence. One of these was the amendment of the definition of ‘family violence’ in section 5A of the Restraining Orders Act to include cyber-stalking and the distribution of intimate images without consent. Courts will also be able to specifically restrain a respondent from distributing or publishing intimate images of a person and from cyber-stalking as a condition of a Family Violence Restraining Order.
The Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament on 17 November 2016 and is now awaiting assent.
The NSW Discussion Paper
NSW Attorney General Gabrielle released a discussion paper, ‘The sharing of intimate images without consent - ‘revenge porn’’ in September 2016. In a media release issued at the time, she said:
“Distributing intimate images without consent can have a devastating emotional and social effect on the person pictured and can be used as a way to deliberately humiliate, control or harass the intended victim… We are seeking input from the community to help establish a 21st Century punishment for this 21st Century crime. The NSW Government is currently considering possible criminal measures to adequately address this concerning and harmful behavior, and we need strong laws to protect victims.”
The discussion paper includes consideration of:
- the definition of "intimate" images and definition of "consent"
- how images are shared or distributed
- how to assess intent or motivation
- what penalties should apply, and
- how the offence should apply to children and young people.
Commonwealth Announcement
According to ABC News, the Federal Government ‘will release a discussion paper next year on proposed civil penalties, which could act as an alternative for victims who find pursuing criminal action too distressing’. Minister for Women Michaelia Cash told ABC News that criminal proceedings could also be too slow for victims, many of whom just wanted the image removed, and that the new civil penalties could help speed up the process.
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