Revenge Porn Claim Dismissed: A Defeat for Women and Girls

The criminal complaint against NS (27), the administrator of the Telegram group "Nišlijke" in which revenge pornography was shared, was dismissed.

The Autonomous Women's Center called this decision of the Prosecutor's Office devastating for all women and girls who have experienced or are experiencing their private photos and videos being shared without authorization on social networks and comments.

"That decision is a consequence of Serbia's refusal to declare the unauthorized sharing of photos and videos of sexual content a criminal offense", states AŽC.

The AJC invites all girls and women who had the status of victims in this procedure to contact them if the Prosecutor's Office did not deliver the Decision on Dismissal to them, in order to help them request that the decision be delivered to them, and then also with submitting an objection to the decision. The "Do not observe" Initiative reacted to the rejection of the application. React!" stating that this decision leaves without protection and justice all those girls and women whose photos were shared in this group, on social networks and obscure portals.

"For the umpteenth time, we repeat the appeal for urgent changes to the Criminal Code (CC), which would enable revenge pornography to be prosecuted ex officio. And this time we are raising our voice because revenge porn should not go unpunished", stand out from this initiative.

The initiative points out that the consequences of revenge pornography affect the whole society and are not just the private matter of the victim.

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"If the Criminal Code had been amended by now, those responsible for distributing Telegram group photos would be at the center of a criminal investigation and would be prosecuted." We remind you that any publication of photos of a personal nature without the consent of the person depicted in the photo is already prohibited by the Criminal Code" they state in the statement. The initiative provides support to the Autonomous Women's Center in their call for all those girls and women who had the status of injured persons in this procedure to contact them.

"In order to send the right message to boys and girls in Serbia, we expect the reaction of the institutions, the condemnation of revenge pornography and the initiation of an initiative to amend the CC", the announcement emphasizes.

Let us remind you that NS from the Doljevac area was arrested in March 2021 because, as the police announced at the time, he committed the crime of showing, obtaining and possessing pornographic material and exploiting a minor for pornography. NS suspected that as an administrator of groups on the Telegram application, he made available to the public photos and videos of pornographic content created by exploiting a minor. In addition to minors, these groups also shared photos of women in the affair that seriously shook Serbia in those days.

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