Revenge porn: What can you do if someone leaks your nude photos?

Revenge porn is not only a breach of trust, it’s also illegal. This woman is worried what her ex-boyfriend might do with a private video of her.

Welcome to Sisters In Law, news.com.au’s weekly column solving all of your legal problems. This week, our resident lawyers and real-life sisters Alison and Jillian Barrett from Maurice Blackburn tackle your legal rights when it comes to private videos.

QUESTION: I broke up with my boyfriend and he has private videos of me of a sexual nature on his phone. It’s not been an amicable break-up and now he’s threatening to send the videos to my friends, family and everyone I work with. The thought of anyone seeing them mortifies me as they were meant to be just private between him and me. What are my rights if he hasn’t shared them yet? And what should I do if he does send them to anyone? Kerry, NSW

ANSWER:

Your ex’s threat to breach your trust and privacy is terrible and understandably very distressing for you.

It’s also illegal, and could result in him facing significant fines, a criminal record and potentially even jail time.

All Australian states and territories – except Tasmania – have laws to protect people like you against revenge porn.

It is a criminal offence for someone to distribute, or threaten to distribute, an intimate image.

“Distributing” or “threatening to distribute” isn’t just limited to your ex posting images on social media or sending them to your colleagues, like he has threatened. It also includes showing the images to his friends at home.

There are laws against sharing intimate images. Picture: iStock

An intimate image includes a still or moving image, such as a video, that shows:

• your genital or anal region whether it is bare or covered by underwear

• your breast/s (for a female, or transgender or intersex person identifying as female)

• you engaged in a private act where you would reasonably be afforded privacy (including showering)

• an image that has been altered to appear to show any of the above.

Your private videos of a sexual nature will be covered by these laws. You’ll also be protected even if he photoshops your face onto an intimate image of someone else.

Please do not feel that because you agreed to videos being taken or sent them to your now ex-boyfriend, you are in some way responsible.

This is not the case, you have legal rights.

Just because you gave him permission to see the videos, it does not mean you agreed to anyone else seeing them. Even if you did allow him to show one other person the videos, this does not mean you have allowed him to continue to share them.

Threatening to send intimate images or video is covered by laws in most states. Picture: iStock

Often threats to share an intimate image are made when someone is trying to blackmail you, coerce you into continuing the relationship, or to punish you.

A person can be charged under the “revenge porn” laws if they threaten to release an intimate image, even if they don’t have one.

If he sends the images, but you’ve managed to have all of your friends, family and colleagues block his email address so they couldn’t receive his email, he could still be charged with having distributed an image.

In NSW your ex is liable for a fine of up to $11,000 or imprisonment for up to 3 years, or both, for sending the intimate images, or even threatening to send them.

You should immediately contact the police and provide them with proof of his threats.

If a person is found guilty of revenge porn offences, the court can order them to remove, delete or destroy the intimate images or video within a certain time frame. If they fail to do so, they can be found guilty of a further offence, and possibly face a further two years imprisonment and/or further fine.

There are some defences that may be available to your ex-boyfriend (none of which are likely to succeed based on the information you told us) including that it was for a genuine artistic, educational, legal, scientific, medical, or public benefit purpose; and that it was, in the circumstances, reasonable.

If he does share the videos, including online, then you should take the following steps:

• Collect evidence: such as screenshots, emails, the url of the website;

• Do a “reverse image search” and see if the video has been uploaded anywhere else;

• Contact the website/ social media platform to report that the image/video was uploaded without consent and ask them to remove it;

• Make a report to the eSafety Commissioner and the Australia Cyber Security Centre;

• Contact your local police.

The eSafety Commissioner has powers to take action against people and the websites who publish these intimate images and videos. Your ex-boyfriend could also be fined up to $111,000 from them and, if he doesn’t comply with an order to remove the intimate images, up to a further $111,000.

For specific legal advice you should contact a lawyer in your state.

This legal information is general in nature and should not be regarded as specific legal advice or relied upon. Persons requiring particular legal advice should consult a solicitor.

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