On May 10th our first year PhD student Emer Shannon, under the supervision of Dr Maria Murphy, spoke at a Conference at Birmingham City University. Midlands3Cities Doctoral Training Partnership and Birmingham City University organised and funded this event on 'Human Rights Challenges in the 21st Century'. The conference highlighted the promotion and protection of the rights of all globally. Emer spoke about the regulation of revenge pornography from an Irish perspective on the panel of 'The Narratives of Truth in Media' chaired by Dr Ewan Kirk. Below is her abstract:
Captured in a Click: Revenge Pornography in the 21st Centaury
As technology and social media increasingly infiltrate daily life, revenge pornography has become a significant phenomenon that demands legal regulation. Once an explicit image is shared online without consent, the victim becomes sexual entertainment for complete strangers and remains captured within the virtual world with no escape. A person’s most intimate moments can be exposed and displayed online for more than three billion users around the globe to view, share and download. The effects are overwhelming for the victim including harassment, threat of physical harm, loss of employment, friends and family and in some cases suicide. Whilst the concept of revenge pornography is not a novel act, it has been adapted and facilitated by advances in technology and the evolution of modern relationships in the 21st century. Subsequently, this crime poses new challenges for the protection of privacy in the modern age. The increasing online proliferation of sexually explicit material shared without consent is a growing concern in internet law receiving much debate and reform by legislators internationally. Many jurisdictions have demonstrated varied approaches towards the governance of this offence. England criminalised the offence with the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015. 35 Sates in America have introduced laws to tackle the problem. As of yet, revenge pornography is not a crime in the Republic of Ireland and there is no explicit legislation to govern this act. This paper aims to discuss the Irish response to revenge pornography. As part of this examination the Law Reform Commission’s proposed Draft Bill on Harmful Communications and Digital Safety is examined and critiqued. Particular attention is given to whether the proposals have the potential to adequately protect victim’s rights.