Protections in the justice system for women and girls

Background

While the online environment and new digital technologies continues to bring many benefits for people, it sadly also has all too often become a place where many people feel uncomfortable and uneasy and can be threatened or abused.

Steps to reduce and eliminate harm that can arise online must be prioritised, especially protections for women and girls in an online space where abuse and misogyny is rife. The harm arising from online abuse and harassment towards women and girls limits their ability to take part in online spaces, to learn, to voice their opinions, to socialise and even to do their jobs.

Real strides have been made to ensure that women and girls can be equally safe, but much more must be done.The rapid evolution of technology creates new tools for online abuse.

Context to the issue that is being raised

The previous two sections of the consultation look at proposed new intimate image offences. Separate to this, there are a range of different criminal offences that can be used to prosecute the online harassment and abuse of women and girls and other forms of technology-facilitated harms. There is also a range of offences that deal with image-based offending, the majority of which is now committed in an online environment.

These laws often pre-date current technology, including some which date back to before the common use of the internet was envisaged. In evidence provided to the Scottish Parliament Criminal Justice Committee, Police Scotland suggested there may be value in reviewing the law to ensure it remains effective in light of technological and societal changes in the decades since it came into effect.

Our view

While we are not aware of specific problems that have arisen as a result of the fact that many laws were drafted before the internet and other technological advances changed the ways in which image-based offences are typically committed (aside from the specific proposals for legislative reform covered in this consultation), we recognise the need for legislation to keep apace with technological developments and victim experiences. 

It appears that, in practice, while many of the laws used to prosecute online harms pre-date the widespread use of the internet, smartphones and digital cameras, the legislative framework has proven sufficiently flexible to be able to hold perpetrators effectively to account. However, we are of the view that legislation should remain under review and be able to respond to new and emerging forms of abuse and technological developments where there is a clear need.

We would be interested to consider any proposals for legislative reform that would address any gaps which consultees consider may exist in the current legislative framework specifically to address online and technology related harms.