‘Revenge porn’ victims are often stalked and harassed by ex-partners

Victims of so-called ‘revenge porn’ are often also stalked or harassed by ex-partners after their relationship ends, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) data has revealed.

In total, 825 suspects were charged with 1,048 revenge porn offences between April 2020 and June 2022 inclusive.

Revenge porn - the act of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress - has been illegal in England and Wales since 2015 and carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 amended legislation in June 2021 to extend the existing offence to include the specific act of threatening to disclose this type of material.

Of the 50 revenge porn cases sampled at random across England and Wales, 92 per cent involved complaints against ex-partners. 

Three of the four remaining cases involved current partners. The victim in the remaining case was the partner of the suspect’s friend.

The suspects in the cases were all either men or boys, except for one case involving a woman. The victims were all women or girls, expect for one case where the victim was a man.

Siobhan Blake, CPS national lead on rape and serious sexual offences, said: “Revenge porn can have a devastating impact on victims, who are often left feeling anxious and humiliated by a complete betrayal of trust.

“We understand how difficult it can be for victims to report this type of offending, but I want to reassure any victims that our prosecutors take these crimes seriously.

“I would advise anyone who is threatened with revenge porn - or subjected to any other offence such as stalking or harassment - to report this to the police at the earliest opportunity.

“We will work with them to prosecute wherever the legal test is met and can pursue evidence-led prosecutions where victims may not want to testify.”

Many suspects in the cases sampled were charged with additional offences.

In a fifth (20 per cent) of cases, the suspect was also charged with stalking and a fifth of cases saw the defendant also charged with harassment.

A total of 18 per cent of cases involved suspects charged with assault.

Victims often reported being bombarded with unwanted phone calls and messages by the suspect after the relationship ended, despite ignoring them or asking them to stop. Some were also stalked at their workplace or home.

One victim said she was left feeling too anxious and scared to leave the house on her own because of her ex-partner’s behaviour.