“Revenge porn” commonly describes the intentional sharing of an intimate photograph or video without the consent of the person depicted. The law now covers a wider range of intimate image abuse and does not require the image to have been shared following the breakdown of a relationship or as an act of revenge. Allegations commonly arise from images sent through messaging apps, posted on social media, uploaded to websites or shared within private group chats.
The law distinguishes between the basic offence of sharing an intimate photograph or video without consent or a reasonable belief in consent and more serious offences involving an intention to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or a purpose of obtaining sexual gratification. It is also an offence to threaten to share an intimate image in certain circumstances. A conviction carries a serious risk of a custodial sentence. Where an image was shared for the purpose of sexual gratification, a person convicted may also become subject to notification requirements under the sex offenders register.
Reeds Solicitors specialises in defending sexual offence allegations and represents clients accused of sharing or threatening to share intimate images throughout the investigation and any subsequent court proceedings. A defence may arise where there was a reasonable belief that the person depicted consented to the image being shared, where the material does not meet the legal definition of an intimate image, or where there is a dispute about who shared it.
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Meet the Sexual Offence Team
Stuart Matthews
Founding Partner, Solicitor-Advocate & Head of Private Crime
Scott Primmer
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Partner & Solicitor
Tom Brymer
Partner and Solicitor
Beth Mantel
Partner, Team Leader (North-West) Complex Crime & Solicitor
Lucy Tapper
Partner, Barrister and Complex Crime Litigator
Kate Macnab
Senior Associate & Solicitor
Maria-Elena Cheshire
Associate Solicitor
Damian Wall
Senior Associate Solicitor
Ayelen White
Associate Barrister
Dana Bilan
Associate Barrister
Jo Benn
Senior Associate & Solicitor
Frequently Asked Questions
“Revenge porn” is the commonly used term for sharing an intimate photograph or video without the consent of the person depicted. It can include sending an image to another person, posting it on social media, uploading it to a website or sharing it within a private group chat.
The term can be misleading because the image does not need to be shared as an act of revenge. Under the current law, the basic offence does not require proof that the person responsible acted maliciously or intended to cause distress. Separate, more serious offences apply where an image is shared with the intention of causing alarm, distress or humiliation, or for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification.
The current offences are contained in sections 66B to 66D of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, introduced by the Online Safety Act 2023. These provisions replaced the former offence under section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.
The basic offence is committed where a person intentionally shares an intimate photograph or video, the person depicted does not consent to it being shared, and there is no reasonable belief in that consent. Unlike the former law, the prosecution does not need to prove that the image was shared with the intention of causing distress.
More serious offences apply where the image is shared with the intention of causing alarm, distress or humiliation, or for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification. The legislation also makes it an offence to threaten to share an intimate image in specified circumstances.
The former section 33 offence may remain relevant where the alleged sharing took place before the new legislation came into force.
A photograph or video is considered intimate if it shows, or appears to show, a person nude or partially nude, engaging in a sexual act or doing something normally carried out in private, such as using the toilet. The definition can also cover material which has been edited or altered so that it appears to show the person in an intimate state.
Not every private or embarrassing image will meet the legal definition. The content of the image and what it appears to depict must be considered carefully in each case.
Not every conviction for sharing or threatening to share an intimate image results in notification requirements under the sex offenders register. They apply specifically to the offence of sharing an intimate image for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, provided the relevant statutory threshold is met.
For an adult convicted of that offence, notification requirements apply where the person depicted was under 18 or where the sentence imposed is imprisonment, detention in hospital or a community order lasting at least 12 months. They do not ordinarily apply following conviction for the basic sharing offence, sharing with the intention of causing alarm, distress or humiliation, or threatening to share an image.
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