A project initiated in 2019 that intends to punish people who distribute photos in indecent poses for revenge purposes has been adopted by Parliament after four years. The so-called revenge porn will be punishable by 6 months to 3 years in prison or a fine.
The law project, submitted to Parliament by former USR senator Florina Presadă, requires the amendment of the Penal Code so that non-consensual pornography is punished. This type of pornography, also known as revenge porn, cyber-pornography, or involuntary pornography, involves the distribution of intimate photo or video material without the person’s consent.
The current criminal code does not protect victims of involuntary pornography
Florina Presadă presented a hypothetical situation in the explanatory memorandum of the project to understand this phenomenon.
Read also: Urgently selling human organs. Raiding the underground market for kidneys and livers
„We assume that Mrs. L. allowed her ex-partner to take a nude photo of her because she was sure no one else would ever see it. After they break up, he betrays her trust to get revenge and posts the photo, along with Ms. L’s contact details and name, on numerous social networks, and as a result, she receives phone calls, emails, and friend requests from strangers, most of them offering to meet her.
In such a case, the ex-partner does not commit any offense currently covered by the Criminal Code. Posting a photo online does not constitute ‘stalking’ behavior at this moment. Nor did the ex-partner incite others to harass Mrs L. If the ex-partner had secretly photographed Mrs. L, he could have been answering for publishing an image obtained without right.
In conclusion, it is now legal to publish a nude photograph of a person if it is taken with their consent, even if it was given on the premise that the photo would remain strictly private,” the explanatory memorandum attached to the draft law states.
Non-consensual pornography punishable by 2 years in prison
The document explains why revenge porn is a dangerous act that can influence a victim’s personal life.
„It is certain that the publication of Ms L.’s photographs represents a serious violation of her privacy, and it is necessary to punish this act as a criminal offense. Violation of privacy is a new sanction in the new Romanian Criminal Code approved by Law 286/2009.
In its basic form (Art. 226(1)), the offense may be committed by capturing, without right, images of a person (NB: The person is not protected if in an enclosed place belonging to the above, unlike the offense of housebreaking under Art. 224)”.
People who distribute such intimate material without the consent of the person in the picture would face up to two years in prison or a fine.
Although the legislative initiative was tabled and approved by the Senate in 2019, it was only on 2023 that it received the green light from the Chamber of Deputies, after almost 4 years.
What does the law say
„The disclosure, dissemination, presentation or transmission, in any way, of an intimate image of a person identified or identifiable from the information provided, without the consent of the person depicted, which is likely to cause him/her mental suffering or harm his/her image, shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 3 years or a fine.
Intimate image means any reproduction, regardless of the medium, of the image of a nude person, which exposes all or part of his/her genitals, anus, or pubic area or, in the case of women, also the breasts, or which is involved in a sexual intercourse or sexual act”, stipulates Law No 171 of 14 June 2023 amending and supplementing Article 226 of Law No 286/2009 on the Criminal Code.
According to the law, the act referred to in the first paragraph does not constitute an offense if the perpetrator catches the commission of a crime or helps to prove the commission of a crime.
Follow PressHUB on Google News !
Photo: PEXELS.com
