Criminalising Cyberflashing: Options for Law Reform
Open accessAbstract
In this article, we examine the phenomenon of cyberflashing, outlining its prevalence, harms, and victim-survivors’ experiences. We then consider the extent to which English criminal law currently applies to this form of sexual abuse. We argue that although cyberflashing can be prosecuted in England and Wales, this is only in very limited circumstances; the existing law is confusing, piecemeal, has significant omissions, and consequently prosecutions are extremely unlikely. As such, the current criminal law in England and Wales is failing victim-survivors of cyberflashing. Due to its prevalence, its harmful impacts and similarities with other criminalised forms of sexual violence, comprehensive law reform, which appropriately addresses cyberflashing as a sexual offence, is now critical. Accordingly, we examine legislation in other jurisdictions where criminal laws targeting cyberflashing have been adopted, and provide recommendations for law reform: specifically, we recommend the development of a new criminal offence that purposely targets cyberflashing in all its forms.
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Unwanted dick pics should always be understood as forms of image based sexual harassment.
“our conclusion argues that unwanted dick pics should always be understood as forms of image based sexual harassment.”
From Teen Girls’ Experiences Negotiating the Ubiquitous Dick Pic: Sexual Double Standards and the Normalization of Image Based Sexual Harassment (2021) · cites this paper as McGlynn & Johnson, 2020
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“23 As a result, victim-survivors have questioned the logic of differentiating between cyberflashing and its physical counterpart: as one victim-survivor stated, ‘I don’t see how . . . the guard of glass on a screen differentiates the impact of a man in a Mac walking down the street suddenly opening…”
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“…forms of TA-SV such as perpetrators distributing sexual images without the victim ’ s consent are the subject of increasing public policy and media debate, other forms of TA-SV such as cyber fl ashing have been normalised and framed as ‘ routine and unavoidable ’ (McGlynn and Johnson, 2020: 4).”
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“It encompasses (i) the acts of sending unsolicited images of one’s genital area, also termed ‘cyberflashing’ (McGlynn and Johnson 2021), and (ii) the receipt of unsolicited sexts, conceptualised as online sexual harassment due to its sexual, unwelcome, and unwanted nature (Powell et al. 2018; Henry…”
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- Authors
- McGlynn, C., & Johnson, K.
- Affiliations
- Durham University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- McGlynn, Clare
- Venue
- The Journal of Criminal Law
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-11-15
- Volume
- 85
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 171-188
- ISSN
- 0022-0183 (ISSN-L)
- 1740-5580
- OpenAlex
- W3104504658
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 4.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Journal of Criminal Law (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Law and Policy
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies
- Keywords
- cyberflashing, sexual offences, legal reform, criminalization, victim-survivors, sexual violence, prosecution, comparative criminal law
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