scholarly journals ‘Revenge porn’ and the actio iniuriarum: using ‘old law’ to solve ‘new problems’

Legal Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Brown

Abstract‘Revenge porn’ is conceptualised as a modern phenomenon which the law is not equipped to deal with. The advent of smartphone technology has allowed sexually explicit material to be created easily and disseminated quickly. An increasing number of individuals have fallen victim to this phenomenon in recent years. This paper submits that victims of revenge porn ought to be held due monetary redress in the civil law, while acknowledging that the damage done by revenge porn need not necessarily involve a loss. Victims of revenge porn are likely to suffer from severe emotional distress and upset, but these injuries are non-patrimonial. This can consequently make it difficult to frame an action for damages. This paper asks if the delict iniuria might offer appropriate remedy in instances of revenge porn. The actio iniuriarum was, in Roman law, a delict which served to protect the non-patrimonial aspects of a person's existence – ‘who a person is rather than what a person has’. As the propagation of sexually explicit images of an individual without their consent is clearly an affront to the esteem of that individual, it is argued that instances of revenge porn ought to be considered actionable as iniuria in modern Scottish law.

1980 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Yaffé

The law relating to pornography, that is, sexually explicit material, is presently under review. Decisions regarding reform are complex, due in part to the fact that it is one of those emotive subjects involving moral judgements and often a double standard. The twenty-year history of the 1959 Obscene Publications Act is reviewed along with other relevant legislation, and examples of prosecutions during this period are used to illustrate psychological issues and defence arguments. Recommendations are made with respect to changes in the law.


2018 ◽  
pp. 51-79
Author(s):  
Andrew Altman

The law traditionally treats sexually explicit material under the category of “obscenity.” This chapter explains and criticizes the development of obscenity doctrine and contrasts the legal understanding of obscenity with a feminist account of pornography. Several definitions of “pornography” are examined, some feminist and some not so. The chapter argues that, although the feminist definitions have important advantages over non-feminist ones and anti-pornography feminism is superior to obscenity doctrine, the claim made by many feminists that pornography has the power to eroticize inequality is dubious. The chapter concludes with an account of how and why pornography consumption is a form of sexual activity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingvill Bagøien Hustad ◽  
Karin Malmqvist ◽  
Ekaterina Ivanova ◽  
Christian Ruck ◽  
Jesper Enander

This cross-sectional study investigated the distribution and characteristics of genial self-image in a large sample of males and females, and whether factors such as actual genial size (length of penis or protrusion of labia minora), consumption of sexually explicit material (SEM) or avoidance and safety seeking behaviors were associated with genital self-image. Overall, 3.6% of females and 5.5% of males suffered from a severely low genital self-image and 33.8% of all individuals reported dissatisfaction with the appearance of their genitalia, with 13.7% of females and 11.3% of males being positive towards undergoing cosmetic genital surgery. Mean protrusion of labia minora and stretched flaccid penis length in the population was estimated to 0.76 cm (95% CI 0.63-0.89 cm) and 12.5 cm (95% CI 12.33-12.76 cm), respectively. A better genital self-image was associated with having a larger penis or less protruding labia minora, but not associated with the degree of SEM consumption, although 93.6% of males and 57.5% of females had consumed SEM in the past three months. Avoidance and safety seeking behaviors were strongly correlated with a negative genital self-image. Considering this relationship, more research is warranted in the development of potential psychological interventions in order to alleviate genital dissatisfaction in individuals.


Author(s):  
Donald R. Kelley

Centuries of Roman jurisprudence were assembled in the great Byzantine collection, the Digest, by Tribonian and the other editors. Roman law became more formal when during the Renaissance of the twelfth century it came to be taught in the first universities, starting with Bologna and the teaching of Irnerius. The main channels of expansion were through the Glossators and post-Glossators, who commented on the main texts and on later legislation by the Holy Roman Emperors, which included “feudal law,” but also by notaries and other proto-lawyers. Christian doctrine also became part of the “Roman” tradition, and canon and civil law were taught together in the universities as “civil science.” According to the ancient Roman jurist Gaius, “all the law which we use pertains either to persons or to things or to actions,” three categories that exhaust the external human condition—personality, reality, and action. In the nineteenth century, the study of Roman law lost its ideological power and became part of philology and history, at least so concludes James Whitman.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Emily F. Rothman

Pornography is being indicted as a public health crisis in the United States and elsewhere, but the professional public health community is not behind the recent push to address pornography as a public health threat. While pornography may not be contributing directly to mortality or acute morbidity for a substantial percentage of people, it may be influencing other public health problems, such as sexual violence, dating abuse, compulsive behavior, and sexually transmitted infections. However, the evidence to support pornography as a causal factor is mixed, and there are numerous other factors that have more strongly established associations with these outcomes of interest. Throughout history, repressive forces have inflated the charges against sexually explicit material in order to advance a morality-based agenda. Nevertheless, a public health approach and tried public health practices, such as harm reduction and coalition-building, will be instrumental to addressing the emergence of mainstream Internet pornography.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-209
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle Kever ◽  
Stephan Van den Broucke ◽  
Dana Hack

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