NSW Bill Introduces New Criminal Offences For “Revenge Porn”
Thursday 25 May 2017 @ 11.46 a.m. | Crime
The NSW Government has introduced the Crimes Amendment (Intimate Images) Bill 2017 into Parliament this week (24 May 2017). The Bill creates new offences that address the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, known commonly as “revenge porn”. The Bill has been introduced as part of the Government’s response to “Remedies for the serious invasion of privacy in New South Wales”, a report by the Legislative Council Standing Committee on Law and Justice which was published in March 2016.
In a media release issued over the weekend, NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said:
“This activity is a form of abuse that can cause significant distress to victims. This Bill will empower victims and provide them with the legal right to ensure that perpetrators can no longer get away with such disgraceful behaviour. Behaviour between consenting parties will not be criminalised. Instead, victims will be enabled to take a stand against privacy abuse.”
The Bill is currently being considered by Parliament.
The New Offences
The Bill would insert a new Division 15C, Recording and distributing intimate images, into Part 3 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The Bill would create three new offences:
- Record intimate image without consent (proposed section 91P);
- Distribute intimate image without consent (proposed section 91Q); and
- Threaten to record or distribute intimate image (proposed section 91R).
All three offences would be punishable by up to 100 penalty units (currently $11,000) and/or a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment.
Under the new division, an “intimate image” would be defined as:
(a) an image of a person’s private parts, or of a person engaged in a private act, in circumstances in which a reasonable person would reasonably expect to be afforded privacy, or
(b) an image that has been altered to appear to show a person’s private parts, or a person engaged in a private act, in circumstances in which a reasonable person would reasonably expect to be afforded privacy.
“Private parts” will be defined as:
(a) a person’s genital area or anal area, whether bare or covered by underwear, or
(b) the breasts of a female person, or transgender or intersex person identifying as female.
A “private act” will include:
(a) in a state of undress, or
(b) using the toilet, showering or bathing, or
(c) engaged in a sexual act of a kind not ordinarily done in public, or
(d) engaged in any other like activity
A person may be found to have “distributed” an image to another person even if the other person does not view or access the image.
Proposed section 91S will allow a court to order rectification for recording or distributing an intimate image. This could include asking the person to take a reasonable action to remove or delete an intimate image. Failure to comply with a court rectification order is punishable by a maximum 50 penalty unit fine ($5,500) and/or two years imprisonment.
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Sources:
Crimes Amendment (Intimate Images) Bill 2017 (NSW) and Explanatory Notes - available from TimeBase's LawOne Service
