MPs from Bright Future, a centrist party with ties to the defunct Best Party, founded by Comedian Jón Gnarr, have proposed a bill criminalizing the production, distribution and possession of “revenge porn” illegal. Violations of the law could result in up to two years in prison.
A dark side of social media
Björt Ólafsdóttir told local news site visir.is that current legislation did not address the growing problem of revenge porn. “Social media has transformed our world, demonstrating that the current legislation is not up to the task of dealing with the challenges.”
A recently published report by the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police reveals that in the past years two victims of revenge porn have filed charges against individuals who attempted to blackmail them with the threat of publishing intimate images or videos. At the same time a growing number of women and girls, some as young as thirteen, have sought help from professionals after having been violated by former partners who have distributed explicit materials.
These cases prove, according to Björt, it is crucial legislation be strengthened.
A growing awareness
The current bill was first proposed during the last session of parliament but did not proceed to debate. Björt Framtíð argues in the explanatory memorandum to the bill that the production, distribution and possession of revenge porn constitutes nothing short of a sexual assault which must be addressed by the authorities.
Read more: Icelandic women kick off a powerful #freethenipple campaign on Twitter
The “Free the Nipple” campaign, which took Iceland by storm last spring, was not only understood by many young Icelandic women as an attempt to end the double standards regarding the censoring of female breasts, but also a campaign against the use of nudity and female bodies to shame women and girls into submission and silence.
MPs from Bright Future, a centrist party with ties to the defunct Best Party, founded by Comedian Jón Gnarr, have proposed a bill criminalizing the production, distribution and possession of “revenge porn” illegal. Violations of the law could result in up to two years in prison.
A dark side of social media
Björt Ólafsdóttir told local news site visir.is that current legislation did not address the growing problem of revenge porn. “Social media has transformed our world, demonstrating that the current legislation is not up to the task of dealing with the challenges.”
A recently published report by the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police reveals that in the past years two victims of revenge porn have filed charges against individuals who attempted to blackmail them with the threat of publishing intimate images or videos. At the same time a growing number of women and girls, some as young as thirteen, have sought help from professionals after having been violated by former partners who have distributed explicit materials.
These cases prove, according to Björt, it is crucial legislation be strengthened.
A growing awareness
The current bill was first proposed during the last session of parliament but did not proceed to debate. Björt Framtíð argues in the explanatory memorandum to the bill that the production, distribution and possession of revenge porn constitutes nothing short of a sexual assault which must be addressed by the authorities.
Read more: Icelandic women kick off a powerful #freethenipple campaign on Twitter
The “Free the Nipple” campaign, which took Iceland by storm last spring, was not only understood by many young Icelandic women as an attempt to end the double standards regarding the censoring of female breasts, but also a campaign against the use of nudity and female bodies to shame women and girls into submission and silence.
