Prosecutors in England and Wales are failing to obtain orders requiring the deletion of intimate content shared without consent, analysis reveals

Perpetrators of “revenge porn” offences are being allowed to keep explicit images of their victims on their devices, after a failure by prosecutors to obtain orders requiring their deletion.

An Observer analysis of court records in cases of sharing intimate images without consent has found that orders for the offenders to give up their devices and delete abusive photos and videos are rarely being made. Of 98 cases involving intimate image abuse concluded in the magistrates courts in England and Wales in the past six months, just three resulted in a deprivation order.