Mayo senator welcomes new campaign to combat sharing of intimate images without consent

Mayo Fianna Fáil Senator, Lisa Chambers, has today welcomed news that as part of the government’s plan to tackle the sharing of intimate images without consent, victims can now report the sharing of illegal content online to Hotline.ie/report.

Hotline will help to get images and video removed from the internet.

The reporting mechanism is one aspect of a new Department of Justice awareness campaign to highlight that sharing or threatening to share intimate images of another person without their consent is a form of abuse, and there are now laws in place to stop it with penalties of up to seven years in prison.

Senator Chambers commented: “Sharing an intimate image of someone without their consent is abhorrent and can have long-lasting and harmful emotional and mental health effects.

“If you share an intimate image without consent, you share in the abuse and there is legislation in place with appropriate punitive measures that will challenge the actions of these abusers.”

Coco’s Law, otherwise known as the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, which was enacted on February 10, 2021, created new offences which criminalise the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.

Bringing Coco’s law into operation and launching an awareness campaign was a key action contained in Justice Plan 2021.

Senator Chambers continued: “Coco's Law represents a big step forward in tackling harassment and harmful communications and this campaign is about raising awareness of various aspects of this legislation.

“Abusers can often use the threat of sharing intimate images as an element of coercive control in relationships.

"The message must and will be heard that sharing or threatening to share intimate images it will not be tolerated under any circumstances both by the law and by wider society.”