Research indicates that police forces across England and Wales are frequently failing to properly investigate complaints related to image-based abuse, a crime often referred to as “revenge pornography.” The findings, which have led to a formal super-complaint, highlight systemic issues in how law enforcement addresses the non-consensual sharing of intimate images.
Legal representatives working with charities supporting victims have gathered testimonies from 100 individuals who reported intimate images being shared online without consent. Despite increased awareness and new legislation targeting image-based abuse, the research shows that police responses remain inconsistent and, in many cases, dismissive. One complainant recalled an officer “almost giggling” during a phone call, while another was met with the remark “Boys will be boys.” A third reported being told, “I bet you’ve learned your lesson.”
Data from 39 police forces reveals that charges were filed in only 4.5% of reported cases in 2025, with some forces charging offenders in fewer than 1% of complaints. This contrasts sharply with a 4,000% rise in referrals to the Revenge Porn Helpline between 2015 and 2025. The Home Office recorded just 569 charges for image-based abuse during the 2025/2026 period, despite the helpline receiving nearly 25,000 reports in the same year.
The majority of victims are women and girls, accounting for 98.9% of reported cases. Researchers emphasize that many survivors do not report incidents to police due to feelings of embarrassment, shame, and fear. Moreover, victims are often left to collect evidence themselves, including tracking the spread of images and facilitating their removal from online platforms, further compounding their distress.
The super-complaint, submitted by lawyers from Leigh Day and the Centre for Women’s Justice in collaboration with the charity #NotYourPorn, characterizes the policing response as “fragmented, inconsistent and incapable of meeting the scale of the threat posed by image-based abuse.” The complaint points to rapid advances in artificial intelligence as creating new avenues for abusers, including the production and dissemination of synthetic explicit content known as deepfakes.
This formal mechanism, introduced in 2018 to address significant public concerns about police practices, will be reviewed jointly by the College of Policing and the Independent Office for Police Conduct. They will decide whether to initiate a broader investigation into the handling of these cases.
Harriet Bland, a lawyer with the Centre for Women’s Justice, called for an urgent overhaul of police guidance and training, stressing the need for a clear national strategy to improve responses to victims. Bland warned that without such changes, survivors will continue to be let down by law enforcement agencies.