Act amendment a game changer for victims of revenge pornography

Published date14 May 2022
Subject MatterCriminal Law, Crime
Law FirmWynn Williams Lawyers
AuthorMs Emily Walton and Bethany Entwistle

Recently Parliament enacted the Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate Visual Recording) Amendment Act 2022 in response a form of sexual exploitation, often referred to as "revenge pornography".

The Act amends the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 (HDCA) by inserting a new offence in section 22A. This will be a game changer for individuals whose intimate visual recordings are posted without their consent.

Under section 22A it is an offence for a person, without reasonable excuse, to post a digital communication that is an intimate visual recording of a victim:

  1. Knowing that the victim has not consented to the posting or
  2. Being reckless as to whether the victim has consented to the posting

Furthermore, an individual under the age of 16 years cannot consent to the posting of an intimate visual recording of which they are the subject.

While it has always been an offence under the HDCA to share online 'intimate' photos or videos of another person...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT