BURLINGTON — Gov. Peter Shumlin signed a bill Wednesday that outlaws the disclosure of sexually explicit images without the subject’s consent.
“This bill makes it very clear that knowingly harassing or humiliating someone by posting sexual images of them without their consent is a felony – and punishable by up to five years in prison,” Shumlin said at a signing ceremony in Burlington.
The so-called “revenge porn” bill, H.105, provides legal recourse not only to victims who have had their privacy violated by vindictive ex-lovers, but also to opportunists and hackers looking to make a quick buck, said Rep. Barbara Rachelson, D-Burlington, a co-sponsor of the bill.
“Perpetrators are not always motivated by vengeance,” Rachelson said. “They often are – and the vengeful crimes are horrific – but many are acting out of a desire for profit, notoriety or entertainment.”
Rachelson said perpetrators often look to extort money from their victims, publishing their intimate photos on public websites that charge them exorbitant prices to have them removed.
Often, the victim’s contact information is shared along with the photo, opening them up to the threat of danger and harassment from strangers, Rachelson said.
Vermont is the 21st state to adopt anti-revenge-porn laws, according to the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, a group dedicated to stop online harassment. Rachelson said that the U.K., Israel and Germany have adopted similar laws.
International support for anti-revenge-porn legislation is important, because websites hosted overseas are often impossible to shut down, said Rep. Kesha Ram, D-Burlington, another co-sponsor of H.105.
Ram also expressed concern over changes made to the wording of the bill by the House. In order to get the legislation passed, she said, the bill’s backers had to include a clause specifying that criminal charges would apply only if the offender posted intimate photos with an intent to harm the victim.
“My hope is that the judiciary will take it on itself to err on the side of supporting the victim, and not put the onus on the victim of proving they were harmed,” Ram said.
