Two advocates who know all too well the difficulties of prosecuting someone who posts revenge porn are pushing for stronger laws during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Even in the D.C. region, penalties for unlawful disclosure vary for those found guilty; and once an image is on the internet, there is very little victims can do.
When Charlotte Laws’ daughter’s phone was hacked, a topless selfie she never intended anyone to see was posted online and shared.
“She was absolutely devastated, felt violated, humiliated, freaked out. (She) called me and that was the first time I’d heard of revenge porn,” said the mother-turned-advocate for other victims.
Laws joins advocates, such as Mary Anne Franks with the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, who are pushing for federal legislation, called the SHIELD Act, to set the criminal standard and hold websites accountable.
“We really do need real transparency here and an investigation into what these companies are doing with this material,” Franks said during an online panel hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
In 2013, Franks drafted the first model criminal statute on nonconsensual pornography, often called revenge porn, which served as a template for multiple state laws for pending federal legislation on the issue.
There is also another bill that seeks to identify nonconsensually taken images online, similar to what pornography websites must do for their content under penalty of law.
Laws said victims live in constant fear of their images resurfacing. She referenced the story of two women who were raped and years later saw images from their attacks online that led to their suicides.
“I spoke to their parents who said that for their daughter, revenge porn was worse than rape,” Laws said. “So I think this is because the internet is seen as forever. It’s everywhere. It’s all-encompassing. You can’t run from it. You can’t hide from it. So you feel like your life is over. And that’s why this is such an important issue, and why we desperately need a federal law,” she said.
State laws vary. In Maryland and Virginia, revenge porn is a misdemeanor offense, but in D.C. there are three different levels of the crime — one of which is classified as a felony and can come with a more than $12,000 fine.
