Sharing of intimate images without consent

You are guilty of an offence if you record, distribute, share, publish or threaten to publish intimate images without the permission of the person featured in the images.

Depending on your intent in sharing the images, you can face a maximum prison sentence of up to 7 years.

If you share an intimate image with someone, this does not mean that the person has your consent to share it with someone else.

The person featured in the images is sometimes called the subject of the images.

If you are the alleged victim of threats or sharing, there are measures you can take to protect yourself from further harm or embarrassment.

Intimate images include any photograph or video of:

• A person’s genitals, buttocks or anal region (and, in the case of women, their breasts)
• The underwear covering these parts of the body
• A naked person
• A person engaged in any form of sexual activity

Intimate images are broadly defined in the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, also known as “Coco’s Law”.

You can be charged with 2 separate criminal offences for the making or sharing of intimate images that cause harm. The harm can take many forms but includes anything which seriously interferes with the victim’s peace or privacy, or which causes them alarm or distress.

1. Intent to cause harm

If you intend to cause harm and without the person’s consent distribute, publish or threaten to distribute or publish an intimate image of them without their consent, you have committed an offence.

This also stands if you are reckless as to whether it will cause them harm (you do not have to intend to cause harm but you know it will).

This is sometimes known as revenge porn.

If you are found guilty of this offence in the District Court, you can be sentenced to a class A fine or a maximum prison term of 12 months or both.

More serious versions of the offence can be prosecuted in the Circuit Court such as where a large number of intimate images are released or where the intimate images are shared to a wide audience. If you are found guilty of this offence in the Circuit Court, you can be sentenced to an unlimited fine or maximum prison term of 7 years or both.

2. No specific intent to cause harm

If you record, distribute or publish an intimate image without consent even if there is no specific intent to cause harm, you are also committing an offence. This includes situations such as sharing intimate images of someone you do not know.

For example, you may receive an intimate image of a person you do not know in a social media message. If you republish or share that image with more people without the permission of the person in the image, you could be prosecuted under this offence, even if you did not intend to cause harm to the person in the image.

If you are found guilty of this offence, you can be sentenced to a class A fine or a maximum prison term of 12 months or both in the District Court.

If the person shown intimately in the image is a child, you may also be committing offences connected to child pornography.

You can find more about fines for criminal offences and about sentences.

Prosecution of children

Offences under the Act apply to children who are 12 years old and over. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions must consent to any prosecution of a child under 17 years of age under the Act.

You will be granted anonymity if a person is prosecuted for these criminal offences involving images of you. This means that you cannot be named or identified publicly as the person in the images without a court order.

Unless a court allows the publication of your identity, any person who names or publishes any information likely to identify you as the person in the images may also be prosecuted for a criminal offence.

If a person is found guilty of the offence of identifying you, they can be sentenced to a class B fine or maximum prison term of 12 months or both in the District Court. If they are found guilty of this offence in the Circuit Court, they can be sentenced to an unlimited fine or a maximum prison term of 3 years or both.

If you believe that intimate images are being shared unlawfully, you can report the matter to an Garda Síochána, the national police force.

You can make an online report to the Gardaí about the publication of intimate images on the hotline website. This allows you to report the incident and request the removal of the images at the same time. You can do this anonymously.

It is advised that you keep a copy or screenshot of the image as proof. Only collect evidence if it is safe.

If you are feeling unsafe, call the Gardaí on 999 or 112.

You can find more on frequently asked questions on intimate image abuse.