Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 22
4th Report – Tackling non-consensual intimate image abuse
Published 5 Mar 2025
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee Tackling non-consensual intimate image abuse All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Sentencing Council must take steps to increase awareness of the ability of the courts to ensure that those charged with NCII offences forfeit all right to continued possession of that material, including both the physical removal of devices on which that material may be stored and deletion of any content stored remotely. In response to this report, the Crown Prosecution Service should also set out what action it will take to stop perpetrators of NCII abuse from retaining that content. The Government should collect data on the use of deprivation orders in NCII cases so that it can satisfy itself and others that the criminal justice system is taking seriously the impact on victims of perpetrators retaining the control of the harmful content. (Recommendation, Paragraph 110)
From: Women and Equalities Committee, 4th Report – Tackling non-consensual intimate image abuse (HC 336), 5 March 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 20 May 2025 (deadline 5 May 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government gives a mixed response, rejecting a majority of the recommendations while accepting some in full or in part and pointing to existing provisions and the forthcoming VAWG Strategy.
- On the Revenge Porn Helpline, it records "Partial acceptance" and is providing £300,000 for 2025/26 (up from £210,000), with funding beyond that "determined through the Spring Spending Review".
- It rejects bringing online sexual offences and NCII within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, saying this would "fundamentally alter the purpose of the Scheme".
- It rejects a statutory civil process, citing "little evidence" about the British Columbia model and overlap with existing routes, but says it "will consider this further" in developing the VAWG Strategy.
- It accepts the recommendation on nudification apps, saying it is "actively looking at options" and "will update the Committee on this in due course".