Last year revenge porn officially became a punishable offence in the UK. In April 2015 a new lawwas introduced which criminalised the activity of sharing sexually explicit images without the subject’s consent online – including social networks and text messages. As a result anyone who did this – ie massive dicks – could end up facing as much as two years in jail.
Before this law came into force there had been many allegations of revenge porn but there was no law in place to protect victims. At the time the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, told the BBC ‘we want those who fall victim to this type of disgusting behaviour to know that we are on their side.’
It’s now been around a year since the revenge porn law came into effect, so how many people have been prosecuted as a result of it? The BBC have looked into this, they asked 31 police forces in England and Wales, via Freedom of Information requests, how many cases have been reported.
Here's what they found out...
How many cases of revenge porn have been reported?
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There were 1,160 reported incidents of revenge pornography from April 2015 to December 2015
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Three victims were 11 years old with some 30% of offences involving young people under 11
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The average age of a revenge porn victim was 25
How many people have been charged with revenge porn related offences?
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Around 11% of reported offences resulted in the alleged perpetrator being charged, 7% in a caution and 5% in a community resolution
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Some 61% of reported offences resulted in no action being taken against the alleged perpetrator. Among the main reasons cited by police include a lack of evidence or the victim withdrawing support
Which are the worst social networks for revenge porn?
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Facebook was used by perpetrators in 68% of cases where social media was mentioned in reports. Then came Instagram (12%) followed by Snapchat (5%)
How old are the victims of revenge porn?
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They also found that the majority of victims were aged 20 to 29, however children as young as 11 had reported being the victims of revenge porn
Where are the worst place in the country for revenge porn?
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In terms of where in the country cases of revenge porn have taken place they found that nobody had so far been charged in Lancashire, Devon and Cornwall or Cumbria, for example. In the West Midlands, 25% of reported offences resulted in a charge, while in Staffordshire, the rate dropped to 3%
It’s heartening to see that victims of revenge porn are reporting the crime with the law on their side and that prosecutions are taking place, and about time too. It's great that revenge porn is being taken seriously, finally. However, there’s still a way to go. Julia Mulligan, the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, is currently urging for a change to the law which would mean that the victims were guaranteed anonymity, brining it in line with other sexual assault laws. Watch this space.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.