Women’s Aid respond to plans to make the creation of AI-generated intimate images, or so-called ‘deepfakes’, a criminal offence
Alexandra Williams, Public Affairs and Campaign Manager at Women’s Aid, said:
“Intimate image-based abuse is a deeply violating form of abuse, which has a profound impact on the safety and wellbeing of survivors. This form of abuse can manifest in many ways but one area that is often overlooked is AI-generated intimate images, or ‘deepfakes’. Women’s Aid is pleased to see that the Government are taking their response to this form of abuse further and welcomes the criminalisation of creating sexually explicit ‘deepfakes’.
Survivors will often not know that intimate images have been taken or created of them until a perpetrator shares them online, with friends and family, or threatens to do so. Both the criminalisation of generating AI-intimate images and the creation and a new offence which will make it a crime to take intimate images without consent will help tackle this form of abuse at the source, protecting women and girls from the harm that intimate image sharing, threatened or actual, causes.
For protections and justice for survivors to be ensured with these changes, the criminal justice system needs to engage with specialist organisations in the Violence Against Women and Girls Sector, so that police and other agencies are given the trauma-informed and expert training they need to respond appropriately to this form of abuse. The proper implementation and enforcement of these changes is essential to not only curbing intimate image-based abuse, but also for addressing the rapid spread of misogyny and online abuse we’ve seen in recent years.
Alongside these changes, the upcoming Ofcom guidance must be as robust as possible and properly enforced, so social media companies not doing their duty to protect women and girls are held to account. We look forward to working with the Government and Ofcom on these issues.”
The post Women’s Aid respond to plans to make the creation of AI-generated intimate images, or so-called ‘deepfakes’, a criminal offence appeared first on Women’s Aid.
