Revenge porn makes victims clinically unwell, rules judge

REVENGE porn can cause clinical illness, a judge has ruled for the first time, as she awarded a victim nearly £100,000 for psychological damage.

High Court judge Mrs Justice Thornton said the victim had suffered chronic post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her former partner uploading naked images of her to a pornographic website without her consent.

She said it was equivalent to a sexual assault and had also led to an “enduring personality change” because of the knowledge that the photographs were available to the public online.

The ruling will set a legal precedent that could result in thousands of victims of online abuse suing for compensation. About 5,000 cases of revenge porn are reported to police each year.

Mrs Justice Thornton said the effect on the victim was “akin to the impacts of sexual assault”, even though the abuse was image-based rather than physical.

This meant she was entitled to compensation for psychiatric and psychological damage as a result of sexual abuse under judicial guidelines.

The woman, who cannot be named, was secretly photographed by her partner while she was naked in the shower and bathroom, and while sleeping topless.

Although the judge accepted that the images were intimate rather than sexual, they were uploaded to the porn website accompanied by a photograph of the victim’s face, making her recognisable to anyone who knew her.

Stuart Gaunt received a two-year suspended jail sentence for voyeurism and other sexual offences and was put on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

The victim was diagnosed with anxiety and depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. “I have become like a recluse. I am managing to work but only because I am allowed to work from home,” she told the court.

“I am reluctant to ever leave home and find any excuse not to go out.

“I have tried to overcome this but find it impossible. I tend to do all my shopping online.”

She was awarded £97,041.61, comprising general damages of £60,000 and special damages of £37,041.61 for consequential financial losses, including an estimated £21,600 to remove the images posted online.