Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to help prevent online intimate image abuse.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all of its forms, including when it takes place online, is a top priority for this Government. This is why we have set out an unprecedented ambition to halve it in a decade.

As of 17 March 2025, online platforms have new legal duties to assess the risk of illegal harms on their services and to take additional steps to tackle priority offences. These priority offences include sharing and threatening to share intimate images including 'deepfake' pornography without consent.

We have also announced our intention to legislate to make the creation of intimate images, including sexually explicit deepfake images, a criminal offence. In addition, Ofcom are required to produce guidance setting out how providers can take action on harmful content and activity that disproportionately affects women and girls. The consultation on their draft guidance is currently open and closes on 23 May 2025.

The Government is also funding the Revenge Porn Helpline. The helpline provides high-quality support and advice to victims of intimate image abuse, engages with law enforcement and other stakeholders to improve processes to respond to intimate image abuse, and raises awareness of the nature of intimate image abuse and the harm that it can cause.