Frequently Asked Questions and Myths regarding Revenge Porn
Common Questions Regarding Legal Issues
Taking the legal route in cases of revenge porn is the right choice, though it can feel overwhelming. Your courage to seek justice is powerful! You’re not alone—let’s explore your rights and some legal terms together!
Understanding Legal Terms: Why Words Matter
In law, the exact words used can change everything. Imagine you’re telling a story. The way you describe things helps others understand it clearly. In court, judges listen carefully to how things are said because it helps them decide what's right or wrong. They also interpret words differently according to context. In our our case, greek law uses a bunch of other words to describe "revenge porn" instead of providing a clear term. This can make things a bit more tricky for us. But don't worry, we’ll make sure you know exactly what those words mean!
If there's no direct law for "Revenge Porn" which are the laws that protect me?
Even though there isn't a specific law that uses the term "Revenge Porn," greek law still provides strong protection. The law that safeguards you is Article 346 of the Penal Code, which deals with violations of your "sexual life". This law protects you from anyone sharing or posting intimate images or videos without your consent. It criminalizes the non-consensual distribution of private material, ensuring that your privacy and dignity are respected. We have linked the Article down bellow, but let's also break it down together!
Article 346
Segment 1: Sharing Intimate Content Without Permission
Imagine someone takes an intimate picture or video of you—whether real, altered, or created—and shows it to someone else or posts it for everyone to see. If they do this without your permission, they can face at least 3 years in prison and a fine. This is a serious violation of your privacy and personal life.
Segment 2: The Threat to Share Intimate Content
Now, let’s say someone threatens to share that kind of material of you. Even if they haven’t done it yet, just making the threat is still a crime. If they threaten, they can be punished with at least 1 year in prison. But if they force you to do something because of that threat—something you’re not obligated to do—they can face at least 2 years in prison.
Segment 3: When the Crime Is More Severe
Sometimes, the crime can be even worse. If the intimate content is shared on the internet or social media, and anyone can see it, the punishment becomes even harsher. If the person sharing it is an adult and the victim is a minor, or if it involves a current or ex-spouse or partner, the punishment can include up to 8 years in prison and a fine. If the person shares it to gain money or any benefit, the penalty gets even tougher.
Segment 4: When the Consequences Are Tragic
If the harm caused by sharing this intimate material leads the victim to attempt suicide, the person responsible can face life imprisonment and a fine. If the victim sadly dies because of it, the punishment is even harsher: at least 10 years in prison and a fine.
Are We done? What's Next?
In Greece, unauthorized handling of personal data is a crime under Law 4624/2019.
Specific Offenses: Accessing, copying, deleting, or sharing personal data without permission is punishable by law, with varying degrees of severity based on the nature of the data and the intent behind the action.
Specific Offenses: Accessing, copying, deleting, or sharing personal data without permission is punishable by law, with varying degrees of severity based on the nature of the data and the intent behind the action.
What are the penalties for someone convicted of sharing intimate images without consent?
Misdemeanor: Unauthorized access to personal data can lead to 1-5 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to 100,000 euros.
Felony: If the purpose is financial gain or causing harm, the crime can be considered a felony, leading to up to 10 years of imprisonment.
Felony: If the purpose is financial gain or causing harm, the crime can be considered a felony, leading to up to 10 years of imprisonment.
What is GDPR?
General Data Protection Regulation prohibits the processing of sensitive personal data, like racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, genetic data, biometric data, health data, and sexual orientation or sex life.
Why does GDPR exist?
- To protect people's personal data and ensure it can be safely shared within the EU.
- To make sure all EU countries follow the same rules, reducing confusion and unfair competition.
- To have a common legal standard with the same level of penalties across the EU.
What would Image-Based Sexual Abuse include?
- Taking non-consensual photos: This includes taking nude or sexual images without permission, even if they are digitally altered.
- Sharing non-consensual photos: Distributing these images on the internet without consent.
- Threatening to share photos: Using threats to prevent someone from sharing these images.
- Upskirting and downblousing: Taking photos under someone's skirt or inside their blouse without permission.
- Sextortion: Blackmailing someone with sexual images.
- Pornographic photoshopping: Creating sexual images through digital editing.
What steps should a victim take if they discover their intimate images have been shared without their consent?
If you discover that your intimate images have been shared without your consent, it is important to take immediate steps to protect your rights and well-being:
- Document the Incident
- Contact the Platform
- File a Legal Complaint
- Consult a Lawyer
Can platforms or websites that host non consesual content be held accountable under Greek law?
Hosting intimate content without consent violates privacy rights. Greek law, aligned with GDPR, requires platforms to remove such content promptly. Victims can take legal action if platforms fail to do so.
Platforms must act quickly when informed about illegal content. Under the EU E-Commerce Directive, platforms aren't usually liable for user-uploaded content unless they know it's illegal and don't remove it. If they don't act promptly, they can be held liable under Greek and EU law.
Platforms must act quickly when informed about illegal content. Under the EU E-Commerce Directive, platforms aren't usually liable for user-uploaded content unless they know it's illegal and don't remove it. If they don't act promptly, they can be held liable under Greek and EU law.
What should someone do if they are threatened with the release of intimate images?
1. Document the Threat
3. Report the Threat
- Save evidence
- Record any details
3. Report the Threat
- Report to the authorities
- Report to the platform
Myths vs. Reality
"Image-based sexual abuse is just a communication or internet crime"
In reality, victims experience it as a form of sexual violence. This abuse isn't just about revenge; there are various motives behind it. Victims have reported manipulative and controlling behaviors from their current or former partners.
Motives for Image-Based Sexual Abuse:
Motives for Image-Based Sexual Abuse:
- Revenge: The abuser aims to humiliate and publicly shame the victim for ending the relationship. This is often referred to as "revenge porn."
- Extortion: The abuser seeks more images, money, or unwanted sexual acts using existing images or the threat of images, regardless of whether they exist.
- Voyeurism: The abuser distributes or creates images for sexual gratification.
- Exploitation: The goal is to extract money by trading non-consensual sexual images.
- Assault: The abuser or bystanders record sexual assaults and rapes on phones or other devices and then distribute the material.
"It's just a photo"
It's not juat a photo. Image-based sexual abuse destroys lives by causing significant psychological trauma, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, self-blame, low self-esteem, substance abuse, denial, or repression of events to suppress or eliminate unpleasant feelings. Both the publication of sexual content and the violation of confidentiality cause different types of trauma.
"Police helps revenge porn victims"
The majority of victims were dissatisfied with how the police handled their complaints. Many women reported that the police did not adequately understand the law or how to investigate this crime. In more than half of the cases, victims felt the police had "responded as best they could" by issuing informal requests for the removal and destruction of photographic material and videos from the internet and informally warning the perpetrator that if they continued, their behavior would become a criminal offense. This approach usually occurred when the police believed the abuse was not a criminal offense or when they thought there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. However, other victims saw these informal responses as another form of the police's refusal to accept the true extent and seriousness of the abuse, allowing the perpetrator to "get away without any consequences."
"Victims demand a punitive response from the criminal system"
In reality, many victims seek recognition of the psychological trauma and injustice they suffered as abuse victims beyond criminal law, possibly through a restorative justice approach directly linked to the required change in the abuser's behavior.
