British authorities are taking up the embarrassing subject of unwanted sexual photographs. The authors of these mailings will risk up to two years in prison.
If it should not be necessary to remind you, sending a photo or video of a genital organ should only be done with consent. Unfortunately, according to some studies, up to 76% of girls between the ages of 12 and 18 have already received unsolicited nude images of boys or men. In the United Kingdom, this practice called cyber flashing will become criminally reprehensible. Anyone sending a photo or film of a genital organ for the purpose of “its own sexual gratification or to cause humiliation, alarm or distress to the victim” can face up to two years in prison, according to the government.
“It is unacceptable that women and girls traveling on public transport or simply going about their daily business are subjected to this despicable practice.said Justice Minister Victoria Atkins. Cyberflash can cause deep distress to victims and our changes ensure that police and prosecutors have the clarity they need to deal with it and keep people safe.”
For this, the British government has decided to cast a wide net. While this practice typically involves offenders sending an unsolicited sexual image to people via social media or dating apps, they can also act via data sharing services such as Bluetooth or AirDrop in transport or on the street. . In some cases, a preview of the photo may even appear on a person’s device, meaning that even if the transfer is rejected, victims are still forced to see the image.
Cyberflashing is an abusive, intimidating act that can have a lasting impact on victims.
That’s why we’ve announced our move to criminalize cyberflashing in the Online Safety Bill.
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—Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) March 13, 2022
Authorities say the new offense ensures that the cyber flashing will be clearly taken into account by the criminal law, which will give the police and the prosecution a greater capacity to bring more perpetrators of this practice to justice. “Protecting women and girls is my top priority, which is why we’re keeping sexual and violent offenders behind bars longer, giving victims of domestic violence more time to report assaults, and increasing funding for justice services. support for £185m a yearreacted Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab. Making cyberflashing a specific crime is the final step to send a clear message to perpetrators that they will face a prison sentence.”
The new offense cyber flashing will apply to England and Wales. The UK government warns that its revised Online Safety Bill, due in Parliament this week, will also put more pressure on search engines, social media platforms and dating sites to tackle a range of illegal and harmful content on their services.