If you’ve been redirected here from ConsentLawyers.com, welcome!
ConsentLawyers is an initiative by McAllister Olivarius offering self-help tools and low-cost consultations to victims of image-based sexual abuse, or “revenge porn”.
We have subsumed ConsentLawyers.com into our central website, providing resources below.
We are leaders in representing victims of online privacy and civil rights violations. We help those who are victims of cyberbullying, non-consensual pornography and online trolling. We seek to expand the law’s protections of victims in claims against individuals and website operators. We work with those affected to rebuild their lives and reputations.
Our past work includes Chrissy Chambers’ landmark “revenge porn” case, the first of its kind in the UK. Chrissy received significant damages from her ex-boyfriend who had released explicit sexual videos of her. Another public case of ours has been the “Warwick Rape Chat” scandal, involving a WhatsApp group where male students expressed intent to rape and sexually assault female students. We brought a claim against the University of Warwick after its poor handling of the case amounted to discrimination on the basis of sex.
Image-based Sexual Abuse
Commonly called “revenge porn”, image-based sexual abuse is the distribution of intimate images without the consent of the person depicted. Sometimes it’s done by angry ex-partners, other times to make money, or sometimes the motive is unclear.
Whatever the reason your intimate imagery has been shared, know:
You are not the only one.
Non-consensual pornography and other forms of online abuse are, unfortunately, very common. Tens of millions of people in virtually every country, from many backgrounds, have been affected by this global scourge.
You are not at fault.
The person who is sharing, or threatening to share, your intimate images and other personal information without your consent is the one doing something very wrong.
You are not powerless.
Non-consensual pornography and other forms of online abuse and coercion are illegal in more than 20 countries, including the UK. Perpetrators may face jail time and other fines. Other laws may allow you to sue the perpetrator for damages.
We can help you to file a civil case to claim damages for the suffering the perpetrator’s act has caused you, as well as to file takedown requests to remove these images from the internet.
or book a consultation:
Defamation and Libel
If your reputation has been damaged by untrue statements made by other people, we can represent you in seeking compensation for the harm caused. Defamation and libel are extremely distressing; we will help you regain control.
Cyberbullying
If your life has been affected by cyberbullying or anonymous trolling, we can help you to find legal solutions to get you the justice you deserve.
Where we’ve helped
Most of our cases do not receive the publicity of Chrissy Chambers’ landmark case and the “Warwick Rape Chat” scandal.
But we regularly try to help those who have been unfairly made vulnerable on the internet.
An office computer was hacked and used to send salacious messages to a man’s wife and colleagues.
The hack was sophisticated and used cloaking websites to hide its origin. We filed actions to force these websites to reveal the identity of the perpetrator.
We helped a well-known newscaster put a stop to her ex’s harassment. Her psychologically volatile ex was sending intimate images of her to her mother and employer.
We wrote a calm letter to the ex in which we made clear that the relationship was over and that spreading the images had already broken the law, which would be unwise to repeat. The harassment stopped.
We helped a woman who discovered that her husband had been taking secret pictures of her and her daughters when they were undressed. He had shared these images on pornography sites dedicated to this type of material. The woman was negotiating her divorce and came to us for specialist advice on how to handle these disturbing revelations.
We advised her on her legal rights, scanned the internet to determine none of the images were in general circulation, and helped her secure an improved private settlement.
FAQs
I’ve been a victim of non-consensual online sexual abuse, or revenge pornography. What can I do?
The law doesn’t make it easy to get images taken down or to punish the perpetrator. In a period of high stress and upset, it can be hard to weigh all the different legal and practical considerations to decide what to do next. Visit our resources for victims of revenge porn for more options about the next steps you can take.
