The Offence of Disclosing Private Sexual Photographs and Films with the Intent to cause Distress under the Criminal Justice and the Courts Act, 2015 (UK)

Abstract The article discusses the offence of ‘disclosing private sexual photographs and films with the intent to cause distress’, as laid down under section 33 of the Criminal Justice and the Courts Act, 2015 of United Kingdom. With the increasing instances of abuse of persons on media platforms through private photographs or films, the criminalization of such disclosure as an offence was a necessity. The new act aims to address the offence in a more stringent manner. This article describes the offence as provided for by the new Act and explains the need to categorize the act as a separate offence when related activities were already covered under other statutes. The article also critically analyzes the section in particular, to explain its role in ensuring victim protection. The article in the end underlines the positive change the new law can bring in controlling the act of revenge pornography.