Image-based sexual abuse law
Deputy Murphy urged immediate criminalisation of image-based sexual abuse after revelations of a large online sharing group. The Tánaiste condemned the abuse, said he would check the current legal position with the Minister for Justice, and suggested it should be made illegal if it is not already.
Will the Government act quickly to criminalise image-based sexual abuse and so-called revenge porn? As people may have seen, in the last number of days it has emerged that a group of men, it seems, collated thousands of pictures of over 500 women, apparently including some women under the age of 18, without their consent and shared them in a gross and disgusting abuse of those women. There is an online petition and campaign led by some of these brave women speaking out about this abuse. Over 25,000 people have signed it, calling for immediate action to criminalise image-based sexual abuse.
Comment on this
The use of revenge porn, sexual images or private images to get revenge on somebody is heinous and disgusting. I read about that. I was shocked that it happens and sad that people behave in such a way. I think it is wrong. I will check with the Minister for Justice about the legal issues around it. It may well be illegal already. If it is not, it would be appropriate for us to make it illegal. I will have to check with her as to what the current position is.