Irish Examiner: Legislation to tackle image-based sexual abuse must be enacted - Caroline West

‘Revenge porn’ is an outdated term that fails to capture severity of the offence and implies blame should be focused on the victim.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee recently announced that she is going to prioritise the enactment of legislation in relation to the sharing of intimate images without consent. Legislation has been developed, but due to the election and subsequent delay in government formation, and the Covid-19 pandemic, it has not yet been enacted. 

Many advocacy groups have begun to lobby the Government to prioritise this legislation, as they recognise the urgency of the issue and the number of victims that need support and protection. In July a petition to urge the Government to focus on this issue achieved 10,000 signatures. 

Victims have started speaking out about their experiences, notably welfare and equality officer for NUIG Roisin Nic Lochlainn who shared her story of having this done to her at the age 17 on RTE's Liveline, and received a mixture of support and further abuse.

While we need to have an open dialogue about this act of violence, we also need to discuss the terminology used. ‘Revenge porn’ is an outdated, salacious term and doesn't fully capture the severity of the offence and implies blame should be focused on the victim. 

The act is not about sex, it is about power and violence. Porn implies a connection to similar content that we see on porn sites, which isn't the case here as the person did not consent to the sharing of this image, work in porn as a career, or even agree to the acts depicted, as sometimes the content is filmed without consent or depicts rape.

Another common term used is ‘intimate partner abuse’, however, this doesn't quite capture the full scale of the issue, as sometimes images are shared by strangers or friends and both parties may be unaware that they are being filmed without their consent. 

Instead, the term ‘image-based sexual abuse’ (IBSA) is more comprehensive. 

IBSA is a more accurate reflection of what is actually happening — the use of intimate images to cause deliberate harm to a person against their will. 

It is a form of violence alongside sexual violence and domestic violence, and often linked to the same methods used in these forms of violence — blackmail and coercion — and with the same goal: causing trauma and silencing the victim.

IBSA is a violation of bodily autonomy, privacy, consent, and boundaries, so it can have the same impact as other forms of sexual violence. These effects can include mental health issues such as stress, depression, PTSD, and more. 

Victims may also struggle with sleeping, or suffer from physical health issues from higher rates of the stress hormone cortisol as they experience elevated.

They may be unable to trust, have issues around sexual intimacy, or experience bullying and victim-blaming from people who share the content.

Another term used in this context is ‘intimate image abuse’, which also provides an inclusive naming of this issue. Susan Walsh, outreach worker with the Sexual Health Centre in Cork, who delivered an online webinar on intimate image abuse, recently noted that: “Unfortunately, the law regarding intimate image abuse remains at the committee stage. 

Any one of us can be affected by intimate image abuse. In an era of media and consistent image sharing, each of us has a collective responsibility to respond to intimate image abuse to reduce this from happening to you or someone you know. 

We can do this by being good bystanders, tackling misconceptions and judgements among peers and ensuring we take the time to question other’s consent when taking and circulating images.” 

The new laws aim to enact a prison sentence of six months to seven years, or a fine of a maximum €5,000, for those who commit this offence. Social media platforms now have content moderators tasked with deleting reported images, but victims have often claimed that they are slow to respond. 

Facebook is currently testing the use of AI to see if this can tackle the problem more efficiently.

In conjunction with this legislation, the justice system needs an overhaul in relation to sexual violence. Some of the training for lawyers, gardaí, and judges may be outdated and may not have taken account of how the internet can facilitate sexual violence and digital abuse. 

Victims also need increased holistic support as the justice system can often be retraumatising, and this support should include access to affordable counselling and court accompaniment by specialist support services.

Sexual assault is often not prosecuted to the full extent that it should be, and IBSA is part of the spectrum of sexual violence. A refocus on addressing this issue is needed. 

This involves increased funding of rape crisis centres, funding research into the prevalence of sexual assault including IBSA, and educating people of all ages about healthy relationships, domestic violence, and sexual assault. As a society, it is essential to recognise how widespread sexual assault is in Ireland, the damage it does to individuals and society, and take steps to tackle this on a variety of levels. 

We also need to reframe the conversation to ask why abusers choose to harm people like this, and why some people feel it is acceptable to share these images. It is important to note that those who share these images are committing a form of sexual violence.

We must ask ourselves how we can eradicate abuse of all forms and be willing to take those steps to build a happier, healthier, and kinder society in Ireland.

Dr Caroline West is a lecturer in sexuality studies in DCU. @carolinewest_IE or www.iamcarolinewest.com