Patterns of Criminalization of Intimate Image Abuse

Abstract

Abstract There is no uniform ‘continental approach’ to the criminalization of intimate image abuse. Rather, very different approaches can be observed, especially with regard to the coordination of specific criminalizations based on the newer digital phenomenology and the older privacy protection offences. In this chapter, first, the possible factual scenarios of possibly relevant behaviour are briefly described. Then an attempt is made to establish some normative starting points for criminalization: the refusal to follow medialized hypes on specific cases in this area, highlighting the relevance of wrong and harm, and the relevance of consent and assumption of risk in the definition of the relevant offences. After these preliminary ideas, an outline of the legal situation in the representative legal systems of Germany, Italy, and Spain is provided. Finally, the chapter attempts to identify the decisive problems of criminalization of intimate image related abuses in the European-continental tradition.