This morning, on a 11-3-1 vote, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee passed Senator Jennifer Wexton (D-Loudoun)’s bill, SB 1210, to create a civil cause of action against individuals who knowingly capture nude images or video of non-consenting victims, so-called revenge porn.
SB 1210 creates a civil cause of action against individuals who knowingly and intentionally create any videographic or still image of any nonconsenting person who is nude, clad in undergarments, or in a state of undress or capture an image of a person’s intimate parts or undergarments when those captured parts or undergarments would not otherwise be visible to the general public.
The bill provides that compensatory and punitive damages may be awarded.
Said Senator Wexton, “This legislation is an important step towards addressing the perverse rape culture that far too often goes ignored. Victims of these kinds of sexual exploitation suffer irreparable harm and must be able to petition courts for compensatory and punitive damages.”
Said Senator John Edwards (D-Roanoke), “We must work to keep Virginians safe from sexual exploitation and abuse. Capturing lewd materials without consent is unacceptable and victims must have judicial recourses available to them. That is why I am proud to support this bill.”
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