Victims of revenge porn would be offered anonymity and compensation under amendments to the policing and crime bill tabled by the Liberal Democrats.

They say the amendment on anonymity would bring the new law on revenge porn – disclosing sexual images of an individual without their permission and with intent to cause harm –in line with laws on sexual offences, where victims do not have to reveal their identity. The lack of anonymity may act as a disincentive for victims, they say, as media coverage in court cases can lead to embarrassment or humiliation.

The second amendment would make up for the fact that reports of revenge porn generally do not lead to criminal charges and few court cases lead to custodial sentences. The policy and crime bill is at the report stage with a debate and vote on the bill in its final form provisionally scheduled for 13 June.

“The Liberal Democrats campaigned hard to criminalise revenge porn in the last parliament,” said Alistair Carmichael, the party’s home affairs spokesperson. “A year on, it is clear that more must be done to empower victims. That is why we are proposing further measures to offer greater protection and redress to encourage more victims to come forward. I hope that the government will get behind these amendments and stand with the thousands that suffer in silence every year.”

Last month, the mother of a 15-year-old victim of revenge porn criticised police for letting the perpetrator off with a caution despite evidence he targeted five women over several months.



The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said images of her daughter had been taken from her Facebook page, superimposed with explicit sexual imagery and uploaded on to a pornography site where men were invited to comment. She said the man involved made several telephone calls to her daughter threatening to rape her and inciting her to carry out sexual acts.

A 36-year-old man from Eastbourne admitted the offences, which took place over a five-month period. He was cautioned for one offence of revenge porn and three offences of causing to be sent by public communication network an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message.

Figures released in April from 31 police forces after an freedom of information request by the BBC revealed that most offences of revenge porn do not result in a criminal charge. It became a criminal offence in England and Wales in April 2015.

There were 1,160 cases reported between April and December 2015 to 31 police forces in England and Wales. Three victims were 11 years old. In 11% of cases, the suspect was charged, 7% received a caution and 5% a community resolution. However, 61% of cases resulted in no action being taken, with lack of evidence or the victim withdrawing support given as the reason.

Revenge porn, which carries a jail term of up to two years and a fine, was made a specific crime following a series of high-profile cases that raised awareness of the issue. In 2012, the pop star Tulisa Contostavlos won a high court injunction to halt the online distribution of a tape featuring her and her former lover Justin Edwards. Later that year, she settled a legal action against Edwards, who apologised for releasing the tape.

Jason Asagba, 21, of Romford, east London, last year became the first person to be sentenced for revenge porn after pleading guilty to disclosing sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress. He shared intimate pictures of a 20-year-old Reading woman on Facebook. He was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, as well as 100 hours unpaid work at a hearing at Reading magistrates court. He was also handed a restraining order and told to pay £345 in costs.