Sex Offences

Sex offences are a serious issue that can have significant and long-lasting consequences for the victim. Unfortunately, it is a phenomenon that is growing in line with the increasing use of the internet and social media. It is especially among young people that many end up being subjected to a sexual offence in the form of intimate and private content being shared online, such as images and videos. This is not only a major mental burden for the victim, but also for the victim's parents and family. As a business, you can protect your employees and their families with insurance from SAFEonNET®, which guarantees the best assistance from experts in case of digital sexual offences.

Sharing an intimate photo with your girlfriend or partner is not a problem. But it quickly becomes one if the photo ends up in the wrong hands and is spread for everyone to see. Especially in connection with social media and the use of the internet, the consequences of a sexual offence can quickly become long-lasting and unmanageable. A sexual offence is, in almost all cases, illegal and punishable, and therefore one should contact the authorities if subjected to it. With insurance from SAFEonNET®, you are not only guaranteed guidance on the legal aspects of the case, but also assistance from digital experts to mitigate damages and consequences as much as possible.

What is a sexual offence?

An offence is described as the act of "harming or committing an abuse against someone’s honour, self-esteem, etc."[1]. The term sexual offence indicates that the infringement occurs using sexual content. A typical sexual offence could be that a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend shares a private photo or video with intimate content in either closed or public forums – importantly, without the victim's consent. An increasing number of individuals experience sexual offences, and it is primarily among young women that these offences occur. Sometimes the perpetrator will share the photo as a joke or without imagining that it will be forwarded. In other cases, the goal will be to harm the victim, which is referred to as revenge porn. A sexual offence can also occur with the intent to sell the image further to Danish or international sites. Therefore, there are several scenarios and varying degrees of severity in sexual offences, but in all cases, the violation will be perceived as embarrassing, uncomfortable, and overstepping for the victim.

[1]https://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?aselect=krænke&query=krænkelse

Sex Offences are on the rise

There is a trend, particularly among young people, indicating that sexual offences are on the rise. This is largely due to the increased use of social media and online messaging and chatting services. For example, there is the messaging app Snapchat, where you can communicate with your friends using pictures. The concept is that the image disappears after 10 seconds, but there is still the possibility of saving the image in various ways. Thus, more and more young people experience that an intimate photo of them has been saved and spread without their consent, and without their knowledge. The internet also creates favourable conditions for a nude image or video to spread explosively in a very short time. An example is closed Facebook groups where young people share intimate images of each other. Taking it a step further, you can also find dedicated websites whose only purpose is to share and display images with intimate content. In some cases, the closed forums mean that it can take a long time before the victim actually discovers that the content exists online, and by that time it may have already been spread and seen by thousands. Therefore, it can be safely said that digital sexual offences are a very real threat that should be taken seriously.

Significant consequences for the victim

It goes without saying that it is not particularly pleasant to find intimate images of oneself online. A sexual offence will feel shameful and humiliating for the victim. It can have a severe impact on both self-confidence and self-worth, and in extreme cases, sexual offences have led to girls taking their own lives. A large part of those who are subjected to sexual offences online need professional help to deal with both the shame and the thought that the image may still be out there somewhere. In addition to the mental follow-up effects, a digital sexual offence can also impact the part of one’s life that occurs online. If intimate content is available online, it can negatively affect future relationships and career opportunities. At the same time, it can be incredibly difficult to completely remove the intimate images and videos, so the consequences of the sexual offence can extend many years into the future. Therefore, it is clear that a sexual offence will largely affect the victim and those around them, both during and after the episode.

Nearly impossible to completely remove content

The internet and search engines have many advantages, but when it comes to sexual offences, they can prove to be part of the enemy. Once intimate content in the form of images and videos is shared online and can be found by search engines, it is almost impossible to have it completely removed again. Even if one succeeds in having the content removed from the original website, it may risk already being spread to other places. Additionally, the content will often still be found in search engines, even after it has been removed from the original site. And because the internet does not forget in the same way that we humans do, it may remain there for many years – perhaps a lifetime. This can have a large negative impact on all aspects of life, because we largely use search engines to find more information about each other. The consequences of both sexual offences and digital threats, in general, are often amplified by the fact that they are episodes that occur on the internet.

What can and should be done?

Then the big question arises: What should you really do if you discover an intimate image or video of yourself online that you did not consent to? Sharing pornographic material of others without consent, especially when it involves young people, is illegal and punishable. In 2017, the penalty was increased, so in certain cases, sharing intimate images and videos online without consent can lead to up to 2 years in prison. If it involves pornographic images of individuals under 18 years of age, the penalty can be as high as 6 years. Unfortunately, the internet has the drawback that it can be difficult to trace where the content was originally shared, and not least who was behind it. Therefore, it can be a heavy and time-consuming process to navigate through the authorities to have the content removed and hold the perpetrator accountable. Precisely because digital sexual offences are a relatively new phenomenon, our legal system is not fully equipped to handle these cases in the most effective and appropriate manner. However, we are at SAFEonNET®. We are indeed experts in digital threats, and we have been dealing with this area for many years, which is why we can offer optimal assistance in such situations.

Insure against digital threats

At SAFEonNET®, companies can take out insurance that covers the company's employees and their families against sexual offences. Naturally, the insurance cannot guarantee that a sexual offence will not occur – but it can guarantee optimal and most effective assistance. A sexual offence is a serious matter and simultaneously a sensitive topic that requires expert handling and damage limitation. If you are insured with SAFEonNET®, you will receive help to contact the relevant authorities and have the perpetrator held accountable for their actions. In addition, you will receive assistance in removing the material, and if that is not possible, then burying it so that it is no longer as visible on platforms like Google. In this way, insurance from SAFEonNET® can ensure that the damages and consequences of a potential sexual offence are minimized as much as possible. If you want to optimally protect your employees and their families against digital threats, including a sexual offence online, insurance from SAFEonNET® is the obvious solution.