Sturgeon announces new domestic abuse and revenge porn law

The Scottish government will introduce legislation to create new domestic abuse offences and criminalise the distribution of “revenge porn”, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday.

The move has been on the agenda since last October, when the Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC called for the introduction of legislation dealing with revenge porn.

Mr Mulholland said at the time: “At the moment we shoehorn this type of offending into existing behaviour.

“It can be treated as a breach of the peace, and that is unsatisfactory.

“This is a form of domestic abuse and sexual abuse.”

He added: “Parliament should consider the evidence and vote on whether it should be considered a criminal offence – and the penalties for it.

“That would sent out a message to victims and perpetrators that it is not acceptable.”

Announcing the new law in the Scottish Parliament yesterday, Ms Sturgeon said: “We will strengthen the law against domestic abuse.

“We will introduce an abusive behaviour and sexual harm bill, which will introduce a statutory aggravation for offences that occur against a background of domestic abuse.

“It will also create a new offence of sharing private intimate images, which is often known as revenge porn.

“During the next year, we will also take the next step in our work to create a new and specific offence of domestic abuse.”

The proposed legislation was welcomed by the Law Society of Scotland.

Christine McLintock, president of the Law Society, said: “We welcome the inclusion of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm Bill, and the offence of sharing private and intimate images, often referred as ‘revenge porn’.

“In our view there is a strong argument for modelling Scottish legislation in this area on what is already in place in England and Wales under the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 rather than operating a significantly different legal regime north and south of the border.

“We also very much welcome the introduction of a specific offence of domestic abuse.”