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Revenge porn victim fights to close legal loophole

Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire Julia Mulligan today joined forces with revenge porn victim Keeley Richards-Shaw to call for an urgent change to the law.

Julia Mulligan and Keeley Richards-Shaw campaign for revenge porn victims to be given right to anonymity

The law currently gives victims of revenge porn no right to anonymity. Unlike victims of other sexual assaults, anyone can name them - meaning they can be publicly named across the media, something which on top of the crime itself, causes on-going suffering and distress.

For this reason, Julia has taken up the matter and is working with Scarborough victim Keeley to kick off a campaign to tackle the legal loophole and ensure better protection is put in place for people who have experienced this type of crime.

"It’s wrong that victims of this very personal and distressing crime are being violated all over again by their stories being played out online and in the media.

“Keeley has lived through this devastating experience and knows better than anyone the pain it can cause.

"I’m deeply impressed by her bravery in coming forward to talk publicly about her experiences and I am pleased to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with her in calling on the Government to introduce measures that protect victims’ anonymity.”

– Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner

The two women have jointly written to the Justice Secretary Michael Gove and the chair of the Justice Select Committee Bob O’Neill requesting meetings to discuss the issue with both.

"They also today launched an online petition Change the Law: No More Naming of Revenge Porn Victims which can be accessed at: www.NoMoreNaming.com

The campaign will be promoted via social media using the hashtag NoMoreNaming

Keeley’s experiences were made public when her ex-boyfriend Alec Brewer became the first person to be sentenced under new laws to tackle revenge porn after he shared intimate photos he had taken of her without her knowledge.

While Keeley’s local newspaper did the right thing and protected Keeley’s identity in its coverage of the court case, other media didn’t and Keeley’s name and picture appeared in national newspapers.

Any victim of revenge porn should have full confidence that their identity will be protected by law and this matter deserves to be far higher up the political agenda.

The fact that revenge porn victims don’t benefit from this type of legal protection is a horrible anomaly which will continue to bring real distress unless the Government steps in and takes action.

– Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner

Reliving my experiences through the court process was bad enough but when my name was splashed across the national media, I was totally distraught.

I hadn’t even told my own brother about what I had gone through. So I felt humiliated when people were ringing my parents and telling them they had seen my story on the internet.

I regard myself as a very private person. But while I lost my right to privacy over what happened to me, I am determined to raise the issue as much as I can to ensure that victims of this sort of crime are not publically named in the future. I regard the campaign as a fight for fairness and decent treatment of revenge porn victims.

– Keeley Richards-Shaw, revenge porn victim

Revenge porn is an abuse of trust that can leave people feeling humiliated and degraded.

By making it a specific offence, we have sent a clear message that this crime will not be tolerated and we have already seen an increase in the number of people coming forward.

It is vital that victims have the confidence to report cases. That is why judges have discretionary powers to prohibit the naming of victims if identification would affect the case and cause undue fear or distress.

– Ministry of Justice