Hundreds of Teens Warned or Prosecuted for 'Revenge Porn'
November 25, 2022
PHOTO: Pixabay
Hundreds of children and teenagers are among those warned or prosecuted for revenge porn.
People under the age of 19 now account for a third of the more than 2000 offenders police have dealt with since 2017.
Police figures obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act show the number of reports of people sharing intimate or explicit images without the subject’s permission has more than doubled in the past five years.
Last year victims reported nearly 1400 cases to police, a jump from 660 in 2017 and already in the first six months of this year alone there were 665 reports.
Police sexual assault and child protection manager David Kirby attributes this to more people spending more time online.
“It’s consistent with the increased use of social media, the increased awareness of this whole area. I think part of it is also anything involving sexual, there’s a huge amount of under-reporting. And so as it’s gained more attention, there’s been more reporting,” Detective Inspector Kirby said.