Non-consensual sexting : an examination of law and prosecutions

For nearly a decade reports of young people being prosecuted under child pornography laws for sexting have been widely publicised in many jurisdictions. In response to these cases and the community concerns a number of jurisdictions in the United States and Australia have implemented statutes that criminalise youth and adult sexting as misdemeanour or summary offences. Despite this, little is known about the nature of the cases being prosecuted under both child pornography law and these recently implemented reforms. This research, therefore, examines the operation of child pornography, sexting and family violence legislation in relation to youth sexting, focusing specifically on prosecutions in Victoria (Aus) Connecticut (US), Florida (US) and Texas (US). The analysis draws upon 20 semi-structured interviews in these four jurisdictions of which 14 involved legal practitioners who had defended, prosecuted or presided over sexting cases and four involved offenders and their family members (the offenders had been prosecuted offences related to non-consensual sexting).