HAYDEN MCKEE
The Victorian government has passed laws making it illegal to send ‘intimate images’ or ‘nudes’ (nude photos) without consent.
The new ‘sexting’ laws will also provide an exemption for people under eighteen to avoid charges of child pornography.
The exemption will apply if they are found to have naked photos of another person under eighteen, yet the photos were sent and received with consent.
Under current Queensland laws, a person found holding an image of a person under eighteen years of age is at risk of facing charges for possession of child pornography and risk being placed on the registered sex offenders’ list.
17 year old, high school student, Edina Morrison said she supports the new law.
“If you don’t have the consent of the person in the photo, you should be held responsible for sending it out,” Miss Morrison said.
“I had a friend who sent naked photos of herself too her then boyfriend, after they broke up, her ex-boyfriend then sent out those photos,” she said.
“She found the entire situation awkward because she had people coming up to her and saying they have seen her naked.”
In a statement from the Queensland Attorney-Generals office, a spokesperson said the Queensland Government has introduced some of the strongest laws regarding child protection.
Whilst Queensland already has existing legislation that deals with this type of behaviour, we will monitor the effectiveness of Victoria’s legislation.