Tasmania moves to ban 'disgraceful' non-consensual sharing of sexual imagery

Stephanie Nolan knows firsthand the impact of image-based sexual abuse, after intimate photos and videos were uploaded online without her consent.

She felt violated and sought help from the justice system, but it left her feeling "extremely deflated."

"When reported to the police, they told me they didn't know what charge they could lay due to the outdated laws within Tasmania, informing me it may be a civil matter, not a criminal," Ms Nolan said.

Tasmania's current laws limit the types of charges and penalties that apply to image-based sexual abuse.

"I left the police station in a vulnerable state of uncertainty and let down by the system,"

Ms Nolan said.

A single publishing charge was eventually laid against her perpetrator, despite multiple photos and videos being shared.

On Saturday, the state government announced it would make it illegal to share or threaten to share intimate images without consent — the last jurisdiction in the country to do so.

The reforms will cover multiple types of image-based sexual abuse, including "revenge porn" and AI-generated deepfakes.

The lived experience of victim survivors, including Ms Nolan, drove the creation of the new laws.

"The harm caused by sexual image-based abuse is lasting and deserving of serious legal consequences," Ms Nolan said.

"It creates ongoing fear because once an image is shared online, you've lost all control over your body."

Tasmania has seen a rise in image-based abuse, government says

Tasmania's minister for women and the prevention of family and sexual violence, Jo Palmer, said there had been an increase in reports of image-based abuse across the country, including in Tasmania.

Earlier this year, 21 girls at one of the state's private schools were targeted in a deepfake incident that saw AI-generated pornographic images of them shared online in a boys' group chat.

Five boys left the school following the incident, but no charges were laid against them.

Ms Palmer said the non-consensual sharing of intimate images was "absolutely disgraceful".

"These laws are about saying that is not okay and we will not stand for that here in Tasmania," she said.

Ms Nolan said the reforms would recognise that image-based abuse was "not a minor privacy breach".

"These changes will send a clear message that perpetrators will be held accountable — victims will be better protected, have stronger voices and stronger justice," she said.

"The next person who goes into a police station to report won't leave feeling the way that I did."

Greens spokesperson for the prevention of family violence Tabitha Badger said the party looked forward to reviewing the draft legislation.

"The Greens welcome any steps towards making our state safer for women and children," she said.

Labor welcomed the announcement and said it was willing to work with the government on the legislation.

The laws are currently being drafted, and the state government plans to release draft legislation for public consultation by the end of the year.

Advocate calls for tech companies to step up

Engender Equality CEO Alina Thomas welcomed the announcement of law reforms.

She flagged any legislation needed to be "concise and well-defined" to enable an effective police response.

Ms Thomas said harsher penalties would serve as a deterrent, but community engagement was essential.

"We need to make sure that people understand that it's a crime, so that they are making informed choices if they are looking or thinking about doing it themselves," she said.

"We also need to make sure that victim survivors have got really clear pathways to that justice response and other supports."

She also wants to see technology companies upholding community standards and taking responsibility for illegal content on their platforms.

"This shouldn't be something that individuals have to navigate themselves," she said.

"If tech companies were taking responsibility and being held to particular standards, then that would provide a particular safety mechanism that we won't be able to have any other way."

Ms Thomas said any response to image-based sexual abuse must recognise the gendered nature of the crimes.

"We know that it is mostly men and boys who are engaging in this practice and therefore the impact and the targets are generally women and young girls."

"I think that's really important in terms of how we're moving forward wanting to address the problem."