Statement from Women’s Equality Party

3rd February 2017

The Women’s Equality Party is shocked to learn that the government will close the revenge porn hotline next month.

The revenge porn helpline is a crucial source of support for victims of revenge porn. Figures quoted in today’s press tell us that 20% of 13- to 21-year-olds have had unwanted pornographic images sent to them, and 5% of them have had indecent images shared without their consent. The revenge porn helpline provides essential services to victims including free advice on how to ensure images are removed from the internet.  

Although revenge porn was criminalised in UK in 2015, The Women’s Equality Party believes that the laws and provisions on revenge porn in the UK are insufficient. In addition to the maintenance of support services the party wants to see the law on revenge porn strengthened. Revenge porn is a problem and requires the government’s urgent attention.

The Women’s Equality Party is calling for a law that makes it a crime to post images without the consent of the person depicted. The party wants to see victims able to sue perpetrators for damages in the civil courts under the protection of anonymity.

The Party is making further calls to ensure that websites on which revenge porn is posted should be required to take reasonable steps to prevent revenge porn being shared on their sites. Websites that fail to do this should be subject to both criminal and civil liability.

WE urge the government not only to reverse its decision on closing the revenge porn hotline but to look closer at the law on revenge porn at large.