[LUM#7] Facing Vengeful Porn

[LUM Magazine] - Published on April 10, 2018 in Doctoral and HDR Programs, Science and Society

These doctoral students in law had their article recognized with an award and published in *Le Monde*. In it, Cécile Lefrançois and Clémence Vialatte explore “revenge porn”—a devastating phenomenon that is still not adequately punished.

Some rejected lovers are now resorting to a new form of revenge: posting videos or photos of a former partner—taken in private—online. Originating in the United States, this phenomenon, known as “revenge porn,” is on the rise worldwide… sometimes even driving victims to suicide.

As a result, Cécile Lefrançois and Clémence Vialatte, doctoral students at the University of Montpellier, decided to explore the legal gray area that still surrounds these cases. In May 2017, when they decided to enter the prestigious Guy Carcassonne Prize for an article on constitutional law, they turned their attention to the topic of revenge porn. “This recent phenomenon raises important legal issues ,” explains Clémence Vialatte.

Better legal guidance

Over the course of two intensive days, the doctoral students co-authored the article… and won the prize, which included publication in *Le Monde*, beating out 155 other articles submitted in France. Laurent Fabius, president of the Constitutional Council, presented them with the award at the Council’s headquarters in the presence of Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet. “It’sa source of immense pride for us, especially since we weren’t working in our usual field—we’re specialists in criminal law ,” says Clémence.

In their article, the award winners call for a stronger legal framework to address revenge porn. Admittedly, since October 2016, the law has criminalized the distribution of a person’s image or voice without their consent“whenever it is of a sexual nature.” What is the penalty? Two years in prison and a fine of 60,000 euros. This is a clear step forward, since revenge porn had previously often gone unpunished due to the lack of appropriate legislation.

450 friends

But this new law suffers from a lack of clarity.“How do you define ‘sexual in nature’? ” asks Clémence. “Do artistic nude photos—or even pictures of young girls who are fully clothed but striking suggestive poses—constitute material that is ‘sexual in nature’?” This lack of clarity could allow a litigant to file a priority constitutionality question… thereby challenging the law.“Moreover, legal professionals are largely unfamiliar with this provision on revenge porn , which is buried within a very broad law,” notes Cécile.

Beyond the legal implications, the young women wanted to raise awareness among young people about the severity of these acts.“Many young people take this lightly. A photo shared with 450 friends on social media—to them, that’s still ‘private.’ They forget that it fundamentally stems from a romantic context, a bond of trust,” explains Cécile. The title chosen by the authors for their article aptly captures this sense of horror in the face of such sordid betrayal:“What remains of our love?”…

Keywords: doctoral students, Law, LUM#7, LUM Magazine, Company