A Mexican Senator introduced a bill to amend the national Penal Code in order to punish sexual harassment behavior called pornographic revenge.
Sen. Víctor Hermosillo, a Mexicali member of the National Action Party (or PAN in Spanish), introduced a bill along with three colleagues to impose penalties against those who make public pictures or videos of beloved ones who appear naked or in sexual explicit conduct.
The bill includes provisions to punish the violation although the victim has originally given permission to get pictured.
The impact caused by shared content is very high and considering once on the internet information gets viral, there is no form to stop its dissemination, he said.
This represents an irreparable damage for victims as family members, friends, co-workers, school peeps and even enemies can use the images, he said.
Pornographic revenge is not considered a crime in Mexico and punishment is non-existent for violators who under the arm of impunity can expose other person’s intimacy, impacting its self-esteem and even putting lives in jeopardy.
Sen. Hermosillo said the government is obligated to prevent, investigate, punish and repair victim damage in violations of human rights as set by the Constitution’s Article 1, he said.
“In no given moment internet or social media are considered guilty, and we understand there are many ways to prevent this issue,” Sen. Hermosillo said. “However, as of this moment these ways are insufficient due to the increase in the number of cases.”
The lawmaker said the bill, if enacted, would make potential violators think twice before making public images or videos like these.
“Pornographic revenge ruins victim’s lives, as they lose friends and even jobs,” he said. “Nobody should be humiliated by seeing their pictures released without consent. The internet must not be a tool to humiliate others.”
