Katelynn Spencer discovered she was a survivor of image-based sexual abuse greater than 4 years in the past in Could 2020 when she was knowledgeable two movies of her had been posted on a pornographic web site with out her consent.
She would later study the movies, one among which she mentioned she didn’t know was recorded, had been uploaded in 2010. Greater than a decade later, they’ve been “all over many different websites with millions of views,” Spencer mentioned.
“Right away, I knew I wanted justice,” Spencer mentioned on the State Home. “But then I discovered there was no law in Massachusetts to protect me. Though I did try to charge my exploiter, my case was dismissed.”
Her hope for a statute to obviously criminalize the act she was a sufferer of was seemingly answered Thursday when Massachusetts turned the forty ninth state to make the circulation of specific images or movies of somebody with out their permission unlawful, leaving solely South Carolina with out a particular legislation on the matter.
Although Gov. Maura Healey and lawmakers this yr had been in a position to take credit score for shifting the proposal throughout the end line throughout a ceremony on the State Home, the push to ban so-called “revenge porn” has been within the works on Beacon Hill for years and located main advocates in former Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, each Republicans.
A invoice over the past legislative session managed to clear each the Home and Senate however landed on Baker’s desk too late for him to formally make it legislation in Massachusetts. Beacon Hill Democrats this session struck a deal on coverage simply earlier than the end-of-session crunch kicked into gear.
Judiciary Committee Co-Chair Rep. Michael Day, one among two males tasked with hashing out a ultimate invoice, mentioned with Healey’s signature, Massachusetts state legislation will particularly make clear that “revenge porn” is felony harassment topic to “severe” felony penalties.
“That’s going to equip our survivors with more tools to go seek assistance and shelter from the court. It’s going to allow our district attorneys now to move forward on this type of insidious violence as well,” the Stoneham Democrat mentioned.
The non-consensual distribution of specific photographs by an grownup is now punishable in Massachusetts by as much as two and a half years in jail or a wonderful of as much as $10,000, or each. The wonderful for felony harassment additionally jumped from $1,000 to $5,000.
Lawmakers tasked Legal professional Common Andrea Campbell’s Workplace with establishing a diversionary program for youngsters on the implications of sexting and posting specific photographs or movies on-line in an effort to steer them away from the felony justice system.
State legislation protecting abuse prevention additionally now contains the definition of “coercive control,” or non-physical types of abuse by a household or family member. That may enable victims of abuse to qualify for an abuse prevention order.
The legislation, Healey mentioned, “recognizes that harassment and abuse is not just physical.”
“This is a space where we have seen some of the ugliest, most dehumanizing, derogatory conduct when it comes to coercive behavior. So we’ve got to do everything we can to eliminate violence, harassment, abusive control, coercement from our communities, and that’s what we have now done,” the first-term Democrat mentioned.
Lawmakers additionally included provisions protecting sexually specific deep fakes, or computer-generated photographs or movies of individuals shared with out their consent, a problem advocates have warned of with the development of synthetic intelligence.
Shaquera Robinson, who leads the advocacy group Shaquera’s Story, mentioned the “revenge porn” invoice changing into legislation “is no small feat.”
“Together, we rise to make large-scale changes for survivors of domestic abuse by changing laws, by breaking down stigmas, increasing awareness, and building connections. Today, tomorrow, and forever, we rise above coercion and we make room for those coming behind us,” she mentioned.
