The Journal of Criminal Law

Whilst the disclosure of private sexual images without consent was first criminalised by s. 33 of the Crime and Courts Act 2015, there remain significant gaps in the legislative framework. This is particularly true in relation to ‘image-based domestic abuse’ and there are important barriers to legislative intervention when intimate imagery is disclosed as a tool of coercion in domestically abusive and controlling relationships. The Online Safety Act, which completed its painfully slow journey through Parliament in October 2023, promises to plug these legislative gaps by implementing recommendations from the Law Commission, set out in its recent project on the Taking, Making and Sharing of Intimate Images. This paper examines its provisions in this regards, exploring whether and how the Act will improve the legislative landscape. It concludes that, in setting out an improved but not comprehensive, new offence framework, the Act will, in fact, confuse and complicate this landscape, frustrating the response that women experiencing image-based domestic abuse will receive from the criminal law and justice system.

Much has been written in support of the criminalisation of the dishonest inducement of sexual consent, but existing proposals for criminalisation have been subject to numerous powerful criticisms, including the absurdity of criminalising ‘trivial’ deceptions, the undue impingement on the right to privacy, and accusations of excessive moralism. The aim of this article is to propose a new model for the criminalisation of the dishonest inducement of sexual consent based upon the contract law doctrine of misrepresentation – the Misrepresentation Model for Sexual Consent – that addresses, or at least mitigates the force of, some of the most common and potent criticisms levied against the existing proposals for criminalisation. The strengths of the Misrepresentation Model for Sexual Consent will be shown by comparing the Misrepresentation Model for Sexual Consent against Professor Jonathan Herring's much-debated model. Further, in conceptualising and defending the Misrepresentation Model for Sexual Consent, this article will demonstrate that there is much to be gained for the development of criminal law by drawing lessons from private law.

In 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service started a public consultation on a proposed update to legal guidance on homicide. Among the objectives of this consultation was to guide prosecutors on the public interest factors relevant when deciding whether to prosecute a mercy killing. This article reviews this consultation, focusing on the role of compassion within the CPS's guidelines. The discussion examines the meaning of compassion, how some of the public interest factors relate to this and whether additional factors should be added within the guidelines to help prosecutors identify the suspects’ motives. The suggested adjustments to the prosecutorial guidance will help the prosecution assess whether the suspect indeed acted out of compassion and whether their actions were appropriate given the circumstances.