Super-complaint launched over police revenge porn failings

Police forces across England and Wales are routinely failing to investigate image-based abuse (aka revenge porn), prompting a formal super-complaint over the handling of such offences. A super-complaint is a legal mechanism that addresses systemic, widespread issues within the police.

Evidence compiled by lawyers from 100 victims indicates that the sharing of non-consensual sexual images is frequently dismissed or not recognised as criminal behaviour, despite former Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously declaring the issue a national emergency. Survivors reported inappropriate responses from officers when attempting to register complaints, including derisory, dismissive remarks.

While referrals to the Revenge Porn Helpline escalated by over 4,000% between 2015 and 2025, reaching nearly 25,000 reports in 2025, police response rates remain minimal. Across 39 forces, charges were brought in an average of only 4.5% of cases last year, with several forces falling below 1% in some areas. Home Office figures also show that police issued just 569 charges for the offence in 2025/2026.

The crime overwhelmingly impacts women and girls, who comprise 98.9% of reported victims. Additionally, researchers noted that the vast majority of survivors do not report incidents to the police due to feelings of fear, shame, and embarrassment.

Training announcement: Freevacy provides comprehensive training for new and existing practitioners on the changes introduced by the DUA Act to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18), and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PEC-Regulations). Our courses are always up to date and provide a forum for learning and discussing how to ensure your data protection processes remain compliant. Find out more.