Intimate Partner Harassment Bill Wins Senate Approval, Schwank Says

July 1, 2014

HARRISBURG, July 1, 2014 – The proposal that would make it a crime to publish unapproved, sexually explicit pictures of a former partner moved one step closer to becoming law today when the Pennsylvania Senate agreed to return an amended version of the bill to the House for final consideration, state Sen. Judy Schwank said today.

House Bill 2107 now represents a beefed up compromise between Sen. Schwank’s original proposal, Senate Bill 1167, and Rep. Thomas Murt’s (R-Montgomery County) legislation.

“Senate Bill 1167 put Pennsylvania in the vanguard of states addressing this new form of assault perpetrated overwhelmingly on women,” Schwank said during floor debate. “There are people who don’t appreciate how harmful these acts are to the victims. They are devastating. And, to make things worse, they have no expiration date. Nothing ever disappears from the internet.”

HB 2107, which targets what has been called “revenge porn,” would mean people who publicly post sexual images of their partners to annoy and harm them would commit a crime that carries potential penalties of up to two years in jail when an adult is the victim and up to five years when the victim is a minor.

Sen. Schwank said offenders would also be financially responsible for the injuries they cause their victims, through civil suit, and concurrent jurisdiction in district attorney offices and the state attorney general will ensure that there are appropriate resources to prosecute.

“Revenge porn is an unfortunate and misleading term because it suggests that the victims are complicit in the public viewing of the images,” the senator said. “To think the victim is somehow deserving of the consequences is as false as the belief so many used to have that victims of domestic violence oftentimes deserved the abuse inflicted on them.”

HB 2107 has the support of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys’ Association, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, and the Women’s Law Project.

“We believe this proposal satisfies First Amendment concerns that have troubled proposals in other states,” Schwank said.

Currently in Pennsylvania, harassment law only requires the prosecution of an offender if he or she uses a drawing or caricature to embarrass someone. The use of photographic images, unless repeatedly published, is not covered by current statute.

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Sen. Schwank Unveils Legislation to Stop Intimate Partner Harassment

December 11, 2013

HARRISBURG, Dec. 11, 2013 – Legislation introduced today by state Sen. Judy Schwank would make online posting of naked or sexually explicit images of former intimate partners a crime in Pennsylvania.

The bill would make the offense a third-degree felony if the victim is a minor, carrying a penalty of up to seven years in prison.  Otherwise, the crime would be a second-degree misdemeanor and carry a penalty of up to two years in prison. Fines could also be imposed.

“This is a growing problem around the country that has caused serious problems for its victims, ” Schwank said. “We need to stop it, and to do that, we need to make sure Pennsylvania officials have the tools to prosecute it.”

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So far, California and New Jersey are the only other states to have adopted laws making it a crime, although they take significantly different approaches. A number of other states, including New York and Delaware, also are in the process of considering laws.

With Schwank’s proposal, a person commits the crime of intimate partner harassment by exposing a photograph, film, videotape or similar recording of an intimate partner to a third party for no legitimate purpose and with the intent to harass, annoy or alarm the person depicted. The picture or video must be of a person who is nude or explicitly engaged in a sexual act.

It would not be a criminal offense if the person depicted in a photo or video consents to the release of the material.

“This is a new form of abuse,” Schwank said. “It can hurt the victims and their families, and it can even affect their employers.”

Schwank’s proposal has the support of the Pennsylvania District Attorney Association, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, which participated in its development.  The Pennsylvania chapter of the ACLU also worked with Schwank and is neutral on the bill, agreeing that it does not present First Amendment issues that have troubled other states’ proposals.

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Follow Sen. Schwank on her website, Facebook and Twitter.