“Revenge porn” targeting young people, in which harmful non-consensual intimate images are put online, have spiked since the Covid-19 pandemic, the House of Assembly heard yesterday.

Kathy Lynn Simmons, the Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform, told MPs there had been “an uptick in complaints among our young people”.

She said cases appeared to have risen since the onset of the pandemic and were “just recently coming to light”.

Ms Simmons added that the Director of Public Prosecutions had ensured in-house counsel were trained up in dealing with cases involving those under the age of 18.

A team from the DPP and members of the police vulnerable persons unit is to give a series of presentations on the issue to students at CedarBridge Academy – and Ms Simmons said it was hoped that other senior schools would follow suit.

She said the consequences of children involving themselves in such actions ranged from them being “exposed, humiliated, embarrassed, or caused reputational damage”.

“Undoubtedly, the stress and trauma imposed on the victims of such acts, and their families, can be far-reaching.

“Globally, in the gravest of cases, affected persons have contemplated, attempted or committed suicide because of the associated distress and embarrassment.”

Ms Simmons told the House that overall, “few incidents of this kind” had come to light among adults since legislation targeting the offence was approved 18 months ago.

The Criminal Code Amendment (Non-Consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Act 2021 became law in June 2021.

Laws against “revenge porn” were created in response to concerns raised by campaigners and parliamentarians.

She added: “Revenge pornography is a broad term usually involving an individual, often an ex-partner, uploading onto the internet intimate sexual images of the victim, to cause the victim humiliation or embarrassment.”

Ms Simmons said there could be lingering questions whether changes to law prevented people from committing crimes.

She noted the DPP reported “few incidents of this type brought to her attention for a decision on prosecution in relation to adult offenders”.

She added: “In deciding whether to bring a public prosecution in relation to these complaints, the DPP has shared that when assessing whether a prosecution is required in the public interest, attention must be given to the principles set out in the code for Crown counsel – but that also in these cases, one factor that may warrant particular consideration is the involvement of younger or immature perpetrators.

“Children may not appreciate the potential harm and seriousness of their communications, and as such, the age and maturity of suspects should be given significant weight, particularly if they are under the age of 18.”

Ms Simmons said intimate images shared digitally and without consent could be difficult or impossible to stop from “spreading like wildfire”.

“In some circumstances, the threat to distribute intimate images is intended to cause alarm to other affected individuals, not only harm to the person recorded in the intimate image.”

Prosecutors got training in November 2022 – and a specific policy on prosecuting revenge pornography is being drawn up.

Ms Simmons closed her remarks with “a clarion call to the public to remind us that every child deserves a safe and healthy childhood – which means that we must all remain vigilant and play our role as we continue to protect our children from those who seek to cause them harm”.

Cole Simons, the Leader of the Opposition, questioned whether incidents could be pursued “proactively as a result of trawling the internet” without cases being reported first.

Ms Simmons said charges were made based on information given to the DPP.

“There is no trawling of the internet that I am aware of,” she said.

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