Croatia moves to sanction 'revenge porn'

The Croatian government proposed Thursday amendments to the country's criminal code to make "revenge pornography" a criminal act, a move hailed by the women's rights group which initiated the move.

Sharing online sexually explicit images made with consent and for private use, by a former partner without their ex's approval will be punishable with up to three years in jail, according to the amendments that need to be adopted by lawmakers.

Also read | Rising cases of sexual harassment in UK schools alarming

So-called deepfake porn, in which technology is used to fake or manipulate images , will be included in the same category, the government decided at a session.

The move was hailed by the B.a.B.e. women's rights group which initiated it and launched an online petition 'Stop revenge pornography' signed by nearly 10,000 people in little over a month.

The association in April opened an advisory centre for women facing online attacks and has so far received 12 reports on revenge porn, its coordinator Dean Sarcevic said.

Also read | German police smash darknet child porn network with 400,000 members

"This is only a tip of an iceberg," he told AFP, adding that the group had also received dozens of anonymous reports of revenge porn.

Earlier this month the European Union member country launched a campaign to stop domestic violence against women, as it saw a 30-percent surge in the number of cases in 2020 compared with the previous year.