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Centre-right pushes for web sex pic clampdown

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Centre-right pushes for web sex pic clampdown

Sweden's governing centre-right coalition is pledging to expand legislation on sexual harassment to encompass cases where sex pictures and videos are posted to the internet without the consent of those caught on camera.

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"It has become common for young girls in particular to be filmed and photographed in intimate situations. This is then spread via mobile phones and on the internet," Inger Davidsson, deputy chairperson for the parliamentary justice committee, told television news show SVT Rapport.

"This is currently very difficult to tackle. Often it's a case of serious defamation but hardly ever is anyone prosecuted," said Davidsson, a Christian Democrat member of parliament.

Should they win the September general election, the four governing parties of the centre-right are promising to draft a legislative proposal classifying the distribution of sex videos and photographs as sexual harassment

"We can't accept that this is just allowed to continue with legislation not managing to keep up," said Davidsson.

The Local reported in December that a court in Halmstad on the southwest coast of Sweden had dismissed charges against a 49-year-old man who lifted up a 17-year-old girl's skirt and photographed her genitals while she was sleeping.

Citing several other cases, the Halmstad district court said that the man had not committed a crime as there is no general prohibition against photographing people without their consent. The same applies to people who are asleep.

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