West Mercia Sexual Abuse charity supports calls for sharing of 'downblouse' images to be criminalised
Proposals are being considered to expand laws to protect victims of these offences
West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Charity (WMRSAC) are supporting calls for laws to criminalise the sharing of downblouse images and deepfakes without consent.
A consultation by the Law Commission is considering proposals to improve protections for victims whose intimate images have been taken or shared without their consent.
The commission is looking at expanding current legislation covering upskirting to include downblousing and deepfakes - in which existing images and videos of a person are manipulated to depict acts they have not carried out.
The Law Commission is also considering criminalising threats to share intimate images, while also creating legislative support so automatic anonymity is granted for all victims of intimate image abuse, also known as revenge porn.
Jocelyn Anderson, CEO of WMRSAC, said:
"It's a wider issue of just upskirting or downblousing. It fits into that whole thing of general sexual harassment particularly directed at women and girls in our society.
"People are getting away with harassment, people not recognising what harassment is and inappropriately sharing of images.
"We've seen the growth of smart phones and cameras of smartphones and we're not keeping up legally and offence-wise with the developments in technology".
She added:
"It comes down to education and a lack of tolerance.
"People will so it's only "harmless fun". But it's only harmless fun for the perpetrator. In know way is this the case for the victim who can be impacted by these situations for a very long time".
In proposals to be published today, the commission suggests a new graded framework which includes a base offence of taking or sharing an intimate image without consent, doing so with the intention to humiliate the victim, doing so for sexual gratification, or causing the victim to fear the image will be shared.
A survey commissioned by Refuge previously found that one in 14 adults in England and Wales had experienced threats to share intimate images or videos.
Earlier this month, campaigners greeted moves in Parliament to make it a criminal offence for people to threaten to share naked, sexual or explicit pictures of videos of another person without their consent.
The matter will be back before MPs in the coming weeks.