The Prevention, Information, and Awareness Centre “React, Act, Prevent Sexual Violence” managed by the Social Policy and Action Organization, records several cases of revenge porn, meaning the distribution of photos or videos of sexual content without consent.
As the Director of the Organization Ifigeneia Katsi said, most cases are not reported to the police because the victims are afraid that they will not be believed or that nothing drastic can be done. She added that these cases are very frequently reported to the Center by young women.
The issue of “Revenge Porn” and the need to modernize legislation, as well as ways to prevent and combat the phenomenon was discussed on Monday at the House Human Rights Committee.
The conclusion was that special, separate legislation is needed for the cases of “Revenge Porn,” in addition to the law on gender-based violence against women since in addition to women there are also male victims.
During the discussion, citing police data, AKEL deputy George Koukoumas said that in 2021 there have been 65 complaints about “revenge porn” in Cyprus and 17 cases referred to male victims. He also noted that provisions must exist so that the digital platforms releasing such material will be obliged by law to remove it to protect victims.
DISY deputy Rita Superman said that in Britain, the Authorities in five years removed from the internet 200,000 personal data released illegally.
Andreas Anastasiades, head of the Cybercrime Division, who attended the meeting, said that there are no convictions for revenge porn since this offense is not included in the legislation, noting that this is a gap that needs to be filled.
