Finland is going to send unwanted photos of the male genitalia, so-called dick pics, penalize. The sentences can be up to six months in prison. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice announced this on Tuesday AFP said.
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The bill, due to be presented to parliament next year, aims to expand the definition of sexual harassment to “ verbal bullying, taking pictures or messages, taking pictures of others or showing off, ” the ministry said. Penalties can range from a fine to a six-month prison term, depending on the seriousness of the facts.
A global phenomenon known as ‘dick pics’ or ‘cyber flashing’, the unsolicited sending of sexual photos, has become a common problem for many people, mainly women, who receive them on the Internet or through messaging apps. According to a study by the children’s rights NGO Plan International, which interviewed 14,000 young girls and young women in 22 countries on all continents, about 35 percent of them said they had received “sexual or explicit photos or images.” Half of them said they had experienced sexual harassment online.
Online Sexual Harassment
“So it’s very relevant to look at how the law should deal with this,” said Sami Kiriakos, advisor at the Finnish Ministry of Justice. Currently, Finnish law faces a legal vacuum: sexual harassment is recognized only in the case of touch, while the transmission of sexual images is only covered by the libel and insults legislation.
Several governments, such as Scotland’s, have already taken action against sexual harassment on the Internet in 2010. Recently, Texas introduced a $ 500 fine for sending unsolicited sexual images. In addition to inadequate legal texts, many countries are struggling to find the senders of these messages on largely anonymous platforms.
Redefining rape
“It can be difficult to investigate these types of crimes, like almost everything that happens on the Internet,” admits Kiriakos. ‘But under certain conditions, researchers have coercive measures available and even access to telecom data.’
The bill also plans to change the legal definition of rape in Finland. This corresponds to unwanted sexual intercourse, where the law has previously required threats or violence.
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