SWGfL strongly welcomes the findings of the Women and Equalities Committee’s (WEC) report on tackling non-consensual intimate image (NCII) abuse. This follows the recent Crime and Policing Bill released last week which highlighted provisions to tackle violence against women and girls, as well as the Independent Pornography Review and Ofcom’s draft guidance that sets out areas where technology firms should do more to improve women and girls’ online safety.
The WEC report underscores what our work on the Revenge Porn Helpline and StopNCII.org has been saying for years—the current system is failing, and urgent reform is needed.
As SWGfL shared with the Women and Equalities Committee in 2024, for too long, victims of NCII abuse have been left unprotected, navigating delayed police responses, weak enforcement measures, and having to recognise that unregulated platforms are refusing to remove their content. The committee’s recommendations are a powerful call for action, demanding that the Government finally treat NCII as seriously as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) whilst empowering victim support services, and enforcing stronger platform accountability.
The Government Must Act Now
It is time for Government to act - legislative change must happen immediately. We call on the Government to:
- Treat NCII like CSAM within legislation, so that non-compliant websites can be blocked and penalised for hosting this content.
- Give the Revenge Porn Helpline enforcement powers to mandate content removal, rather than relying on tech platforms’ voluntary cooperation.
- Make StopNCII.org adoption mandatory for all platforms, ensuring that NCII content cannot be repeatedly uploaded and shared.
- Secure sustainable, long-term funding for the Revenge Porn Helpline, that reflects the substantial increase in demand for support.
- Ensure police forces are properly trained to respond effectively and sensitively to NCII cases.
Key Findings
1. NCII Must Be Treated as Seriously as CSAM
"For internet infrastructure providers to take this threat seriously and block access to websites that refuse to comply, NCII should be brought in line with child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in law."
Through our 10 year anniversary of the Revenge Porn Helpline we have been leading the campaign to ensure that NCII is treated with the same urgency as CSAM and make the owning and viewing of content illegal — this is a clear mandate for the Government to act.
2. The Revenge Porn Helpline Needs Legal Powers and Funding
"The only help for these victims right now is the Revenge Porn Helpline; it is literally all there is, and it is not a big team." – Georgia Harrison, Campaigner and Survivor
"The services provided by the Revenge Porn Helpline need to be supported by sufficient funding to allow them to keep up with demand and ensure that no victim of NCII goes unsupported. Current Government funding has remained at 2020 levels despite a sevenfold increase in caseload."
The Revenge Porn Helpline has now experienced a 14-fold increase in case volume over the last 5 years. The Government must significantly invest in the UK’s only specialist NCII support service to adequately provide the resources to meet this volume of victims.
3. The Revenge Porn Helpline Should Be Given the Powers of an Online Safety Commission
"The Government should set up an Online Safety Commission, similar to the eSafety Commission in Australia, with a focus on support for individuals. The new Commission would be able to apply for and send court orders and oversee a national NCII registry.” and “The UK already has an excellent organisation doing some of this work in the form of the Revenge Porn Helpline. The Government should discuss the proposals set out above with the RPH to determine what relationship the RPH could have with the proposed Commission, or—preferably, given the expertise at the RPH—whether it can be given additional resources to take on the role of the Commission itself.”
SWGfL has long stated that the Revenge Porn Helpline should be granted the authority to enforce removals—not just request them. This would allow NCII content to be removed quicker and more efficiently without having to rely on delayed responses from industry who may ignore requests. This recommendation must be implemented without delay.
4. StopNCII.org Must Be Mandated for All Platforms
"The Revenge Porn Helpline launched a free ‘hashing’ tool designed to protect people from NCII abuse… However, some major platforms, including Google, have so far not joined the 13 currently participating platforms; they should do so urgently."
StopNCII.org is one of the most effective global solutions for preventing NCII abuse, yet platforms are still not required to implement it. Making StopNCII.org a mandatory requirement would allow the protections against NCII to cover a much wider scale.
David Wright CBE (CEO of SWGfL) said:
"We have been calling for these changes for years—this report makes it clear that the Government can no longer ignore the need for urgent reform. We must ensure that no victim of NCII abuse is left alone in trying to protect themselves against intimate image abuse. This is now the moment for change, and we will continue pushing until these recommendations are turned into law."
SWGfL, the Revenge Porn Helpline, and StopNCII.org stand ready to work with the Government to implement these recommendations. But victims cannot wait—we urge Ministers to take swift and decisive action to end NCII abuse once and for all.
