Courts Continue to Recognize Publishing Intimate Images Online as Sexualized Violence

Sexualized violence can take many forms, including disclosure of intimate images to a public platform.  The significant harm that can result and the shame that victims feel is more and more recognized by our courts and regulators.  A recent criminal conviction for publishing intimate images to the online porn site, Pornhub, resulted in a five month sentence. The 42 year old man had posted 18 videos and 80 photographs of his ex partner to Pornhub without her permission. Some of the videos were made with the consent of the victim and some were not, but she did not consent to having them uploaded to Pornhub.  The videos were viewed more than 10,000 times and the victim was clearly identifiable. In sentencing the man, the judge commented on the “pre-meditated and revenge motivated nature of the acts” which placed his actions in the more egregious category.

This decision comes at a time when our government is also working towards strengthening protections for victims of disclosure of intimate images. The Intimate Images Protection Act (IIPA) was enacted over two years ago and helps people who have had their intimate images shared without their consent access justice without going through the lengthy proceedings of a British Columbia Supreme Court trial by providing the Civil Resolution Tribunal with authority to deal with these cases. The Civil Resolution Tribunal provides an expedited and simplified process for victims to obtain some recourse.  The IIPA, when originally enacted, provided jurisdiction for the Civil Resolution Tribunal to award up to $5,000 for victims of disclosure of intimate images.  Proposed amendments to the IIPA will provide the Civil Resolution Tribunal with authority to award victims up to $75,000.  This significant increase in jurisdiction is a recognition of the degree of harm that results from sharing of intimate images without consent.

This recent criminal case and the proposed amendments to the IIPA demonstrate the understanding of the significant harm that can occur as a result of sharing of intimate images without consent and signal the commitment of the government to provide protections for victims and of the courts to express their disapproval of such conduct through sentencing mechanisms.

If you have questions about this or other privacy-related matters, please get in touch with Rose Keith, KC or another member of our Privacy and Data Protection team. For more blog posts, click here.