New laws to crack down on online 'revenge porn' could be drafted before the end of this year, the Government has indicated.
The practice sees often sexually explicit pictures of an individual circulated on the internet without their consent, generally by a bitter ex-partner.
Speaking to MPs in the House of Commons yesterday, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said ministers were "open to having a serious discussion" about the issue, which charities have warned is becoming increasingly common.
He said: "This issue...is clearly becoming a bigger problem in our society.
"The Government are very open to having a serious discussion, with a view to taking appropriate action in autumn if we can identify the best way of doing so."
The response followed a question from former Cabinet secretary Maria Miller, the Conservative MP for Basingstoke, who suggested the law could be included in legislation already being considered by Parliament.
She suggested harsher punishments for offenders were needed in particular.
She said: "Does the Secretary of State agree that the law needs to change to ensure that perpetrators are properly punished, and that the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, which is currently being considered in the other place, could provide the Government with an opportunity to do just that?"
Campaigners argue that current legislation relating to sexual offences does not protect people against revenge porn because it fails to consider that a victim may have consented to the original photograph being taken but not to its distribution.
Speaking to the Standard last month, Dr Julian Huppert, a Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge who is in favour of new laws to tackle to issue, said: "The [current] legal framework does not seem to deal with it. The law clearly hasn't kept up with [the crime]."
Following Mr Grayling's comments yesterday, he told The Metro: "I’m pleased the Justice Secretary is listening and hope he will heed our calls for action."
