New laws criminalising the possession of pornographic images of rape and so-called ‘revenge pornography’ have been enacted in the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.
The research of Professor Erika Rackley, together with Professor Clare McGlynn (Durham University), formed the basis for a high-profile campaign led by Rape Crisis (South London) and the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), which led to a commitment by the Prime Minister in May 2013 to extend the current extreme pornography laws to include images of rape. They worked closely with Rape Crisis (South London) and EVAW on this campaign. They also advised a number of members of the House of Lords during the debates surrounding the enactment of the ‘revenge pornography’ provisions. During the course of these debates, Baroness Thornton approved their recommendation that:
“[T]he Government should consider the wholesale review of the regulation of obscenity and pornography. This is to ensure that the law is fit for purpose in our technological age and to reorientate the law in this area away from disgust and distaste and toward a focus, perhaps, on cultural harm...”
Professors Rackley and McGlynn have written a piece for The Conversation explaining and discussing the new ‘revenge pornography’ provisions.