Sharp rise in reports of revenge porn in Kent

Revenge porn was made a criminal offence in 2015. (Picture posed by model)

The number of revenge porn cases reported to Kent Police has almost doubled in four years.

Reports of private and sexual photographs and films being disclosed with intent to cause distress rose from 201 in 2018 to 391 in 2022.

Figures obtained by BBC Radio Kent show the youngest victim was 10 years old.

The government says victims are now better protected as a range of offences can be used to prosecute people who share images without consent.

Det Ch Supt Emma Banks from Kent Police said "These are particularly difficult cases because often the abuser is someone they may still have feelings about."

Commenting on the figures obtained by the BBC using the Freedom of Information Act, she said: "We have been going into schools teaching students about acceptable behaviour and we think this is why we have seen the rise in reporting."

Revenge porn, which is also called non-consensual pornography or image-based sexual abuse, was made a criminal offence in 2015.

An amendment to the law was created in 2021, which also made threatening to release private sexual images and films an offence.

Offenders who are convicted can face a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

'Abusive harm'

Rani Govender, from the NSPCC told BBC Radio Kent: "It is incredibly concerning that this might be becoming a more normalised trend that young people are experiencing.

"We know that girls are particularly vulnerable to experiencing this form of abusive harm."

Campaigners have been calling for a further change to the law in order to give victims the same anonymity given to victims of sexual offences.

The Ministry of Justice says the offence does not attract automatic reporting restrictions, but witnesses in any criminal case can apply to the courts to provide lifetime protection from being identified in the media.

Ian Kelcey, a solicitor and member of the Law Society said: "Victims in this type of situation should automatically be afforded anonymity. It is provided to blackmailers. Revenge porn is a form of blackmail."

A government spokesperson said: "We recognise there is more we can do to improve the law and our amendments to the Online Safety Bill will give police and prosecutors the powers they need to bring offenders to justice."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].