House of Lords Proposes One-Year Prison Sentences for ‘Revenge Porn’

Peers propose amendment to Criminals Justice and Courts Bill to impose one-year prison sentences for revenge porn offenders.

The House of Lords will debate a change to the law in the UK which could make it a criminal offence to publish sexually explicit or pornographic images of individuals without their consent.

Liberal Democrat peers Baroness Olly Grender and Lord Jonathan Marks tabled an amendment to the Criminals Justice and Courts Bill that will add one-year prison sentences to people who post explicit images online without the subject’s consent.

Revenge porn could also be added to the Sexual Offences Act, which means perpetrators would be placed on the sex offenders’ register.

The peers said people charged under the proposed amendment must have believed that the image was intended to remain private at the time it was taken.

The proposed amendment came after Justice Secretary Chris Grayling told MPs in the House of Commons that the government is open to having a “serious discussion” about changes to the law to criminalise revenge porn.

Grayling said MPs could take action as early as the autumn, when parliament reconvenes after the summer recess.

The justice minister was speaking in response to a parliamentary question raised by Maria Miller, the former culture secretary, who said the law needs to be changed in order to ensure that perpetrators of revenge porn are “properly punished”.

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