Legal Responses to Nonconsensual Pornography: Current Policy in the United States and Future Directions for Research

Abstract

Technological advances have created new avenues for the perpetration of sexual violence. The widespread availability of cameras has made it easier to take covert recordings of an individual’s intimate body parts, and whether sexually explicit images are recorded with or without an individual’s consent, growing access to the Internet has facilitated the nonconsensual dissemination of those images. Yet criminal laws have not kept pace with technology in most jurisdictions across the United States, and victims of nonconsensual pornography typically have no avenue by which to seek justice. There have been efforts to reform laws in a variety of jurisdictions, some successful but others not. The present study examines the extent to which laws across the United States address nonconsensual pornography. Results reveal that current laws are plagued with a variety of caveats that make prosecution of nonconsensual pornography difficult, suggesting that legal reform addressing this problem has been insufficient. This research calls for increased attention to the links between policy and criminal justice management of the issue. In particular, theories from feminist criminology and psychology are used to explore how policy development related to nonconsensual pornography could be influenced by broader structural features of society. Further empirical study is needed to both advance the social science literature related to violence against women and guide policymakers as they navigate this rapidly changing area of law.

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