The Massachusetts Senate voted 38-0 to criminalize what’s known as revenge porn, the sharing of intimate or sexually-explicit images without the subject’s consent.
The vote follows the unanimous approval of the legislation in the House yesterday. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Maura Healey, who has already voiced her support.
The Commonwealth joins 48 other states in making the non-consensual sharing of intimate images a crime and the seventh state to enact protections against coercive control, a pattern of abusive behavior used to dominate an intimate partner. Tactics can include isolation, financial abuse, verbal abuse, stalking and humiliation.
State Senator John Keenan (D), who sponsored the bill, credited abuse survivors with moving the legislation forward.
“To those who find themselves in vulnerable situations, hopefully this bill serves to protect them from becoming the next victims of revenge porn and coercive control,” said Sen. Keenan.
Advocates have been pushing lawmakers to act on these issues for years.
Hema Sarang-Sieminski, deputy director of the nonprofit advocacy group Jane Doe Inc., said the bill’s passage is a monumental moment for survivors.
“Adding this language to our protection order statute really allows survivors to seek protections from the power and control underlying domestic abuse,” said Sarang-Sieminski.
In September, Carmen Aliber testified at a State House hearing in support of the bill, recounting how a former partner took control of her life by linking to her devices and controlling her online accounts. She described coercive control as “the most insidious and crippling form of manipulation.”
“Despite no physical scars, his technological, financial, emotional, psychological, legal, and other forms of abuse that I am not ready to speak about nearly destroyed me,” she testified. “Technology was my abuser’s weapon of choice.”
Aliber told GBH News that police said she would need to show signs of physical or sexual abuse in court to obtain a restraining order.
“I asked law enforcement. I asked my attorney, how come protections aren’t in place? And they said, because the laws are not written that way,” said Aliber. “And that’s what led me to say, I will be working with legislators to change these laws because abusers don’t change, so laws must change to protect victims.”
Aliber founded the Together Rising Above Coercion Coalition or TRACC to protect others like her.
She says this legislation will make it easier for victims to obtain a restraining order against their abuser. If that order is violated, the offender can be arrested.
Experts like Dr. Lisa Fontes, a lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said coercive control is the underlying element of revenge porn.
“Revenge porn – controlling and harming you through posting images – is an extension of coercive control,” said Fontes.
Intimate images include AI-generated images and deep fakes. Those found guilty of revenge porn could face up to two and a half years in jail and a fine of not more than $10,000. Offenders who are minors would be directed to an educational program.
Republican State Senator Bruce Tarr said this legislation could not come soon enough.
“Whereas technology continues to evolve and become more proliferate, the threat of the damage that can be done with regard to these kinds of actions grows by the day, and that damage can be significant,” he said. “It can be incredibly disruptive and damaging to the lives of the victims.”
Sarang-Sieminski agrees.
“When an image is shared without a survivor’s concerns, it really raises the risk of further sexual assault tremendously,” said Sarang-Sieminski. “Our protection order statutes did not cover that kind of harm. Our criminal laws did not cover that kind of harm.”
For many survivors, this legislation will help educate the public and courts.
“I was silent because I was ashamed and I felt like my situation would stigmatize me professionally,” said Aliber. “I came to realize my abuser had gotten away with this behavior for years because ... victims are silenced by shame.”
