Revenge Porn To Be Made Illegal In UK: But What Took Them So Long?

It's just about the worst thing you can imagine happening after a break up.

First, you have to deal with the fact that your relationship has broken down, then your heartache is compounded by the fact that your ex has just posted intimate photos or videos of you online for the world to see.

The act of publishing nude or sexual photos and videos post-breakup has been dubbed "revenge porn" because many view it as a method of punishment for an acrimonious separation.

The common scenario: guy gets scorned, guy gets own back the only way he knows how, by exposing, objectifying and shaming a woman - using her own body against her.

Distressingly, of around 150 cases of revenge porn in the UK in the last couple of years, only six of these ended with any kind of police warning or charge, reported The Independent.

Finally, though, the government seems to have wised up to this increasingly common post-breakup trend.

The new legislation, which is currently going through parliament, will cover any private, sexualised image that is circulated on OR offline without their consent.

It will carry a jail sentence of up to two years.

Yes, It's A Crime

Many have questioned whether the circulating of nude images without permission can rightfully be classified as a crime.

Very simply, yes.

Any man or woman is at liberty to take naked pictures of him or herself to keep for private use. No, it is never the victim's fault if these images are stolen and used against them.

Is it ever the victim's fault if a locked house is burgled and private possessions stolen?

"This type of behaviour can be extremely distressing for its victims causing them significant psychological harm," said Adam Pemberton of Victim Support.

"We are pleased that people who commit these gross violations of privacy will now face prosecution and victims of revenge porn know they have the full backing of the law," he finished.

Considering this practice has been around for many years, growing in tandem with the free-to-use amateur porn websites that are avalable, it begs the question: "Why now?"

Celebrities Make Better Headlines

We've known this for years. We're guilty of it ourselves.

Sometimes stories just catch on faster and generate a lot more hype when someone high profile is involved.

It might sadden us to think that we had to wait for it to happen to celebrities like Tulisa Contostavlos, Rihanna and in some vein Jennifer Lawrence (who was not targeted by an ex-boyfriend, but who was attacked all the same), before we did anything about it.

However, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth - if it weren't for these brave women speaking out about their attacks, as Jennifer Lawrence did in her interview with Vanity Fair when she said: "It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation. It’s disgusting. The law needs to be changed, and we need to change" - we might not be looking at any legislation at all.

Some Of The Women Were Shockingly Young

The other, harrowing reason for finally wising up to revenge porn as a bonafide crime, is the age of some of its victims.

Children have mobile phones, laptops and regular access to the internet. This is just a fact.

Some of the victims uncovered during the investigation of acts of revenge porn, were as young as 11-years-old.

What is more, during other investigations, it was found that the threat of revenge porn had been used as blackmail to force young women into having sex where they would otherwise have said no.

If that doesn't convince you of the need for new legislation, nothing will.

To Be Clear

Just so there's no confusion - revenge porn concerns images of a person engaged in a sexual act, depicted in a sexual way or with their gentials exposed.

If these images are circulated either ONLINE or OFFLINE, without the person's clear permission, it will be a crime, punishable by up to two years in jail.

[Jennifer Lawrence: It's A Sex Crime And I Have Nothing To Apologise For]

[Your Guide To iCloud Security]

What do you think? Should police and politicians have acted a long time ago to curb incidences of revenge porn? Let us know in the comments!