Just two people have been found guilty of distributing leaked nude material, also known as revenge porn since the law came into force in 2016.

Between 2017 and 2020, police received 20 reports of revenge porn.

In 2017, three cases were filed, but just one person was arraigned in court and was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for two years.

In 2018, there were four reports. Police pressed charges against three of the accused and one was found guilty and fined €4,500. Two others were not found guilty of leaking nude material.

In 2019, there were three cases opened, all of which are still under investigation.

In 2020, that figure doubled, with eight reports of revenge porn.

This doubled figure could mean people are more willing to come forward to police if they’ve been victims of this form of sexual harassment.

However, the fact that only four people were arraigned in court while the rest remain unsolved raises the question as to whether police have the tools to efficiently tackle such crimes.

Just two months into 2021, two cases of revenge porn have been filed.

The issue of revenge porn reared its head again after a young woman’s x-rated video was leaked and circulated illegally across Malta this month. It was even screened at a restaurant to a crowd of laughing men. 

In 2016, new amendments made it a crime to distribute revenge porn, in other words, to upload pornographic videos or photos on the internet which were intended for personal use, in order to get back at someone.

Under Maltese law, anyone found to have shared the video is liable to a fine of up to €5,000 and up to two years imprisonment.

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