[LUM#7] Facing Vengeful Porn

[LUM Magazine] - Published on April 10, 2018 in Doctoral and HDR Training, 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 the past during intimate moments—on the Internet. Originating in the United States, this phenomenon, known as “revenge porn,” is gaining momentum around the world… 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 compete for the prestigious Guy Carcassonne Prize, which recognizes 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 in the presence of Minister of Justice 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. It is truethat, 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 precision.“How do we define ‘sexual nature’? ” asks Clémence. “Do artistic nude photos—or even pictures of young girls who are fully clothed but striking suggestive poses—constitute a sexual nature?” This lack of clarity could allow a litigant to file a priority constitutionality review… thereby challenging the law.“Legal professionals are also 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 the authors chose for their article aptly captures this sense of horror in the face of such sordid betrayal:“What remains of our loves?”…

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