An award for almost £100,000 in damages has been made to a woman after a former partner secretly recorded her naked and published the footage online.
In what is believed to be the first case of its type to be seen in front of English or Welsh civil courts, the woman – who remains unnamed – received £60,000 in general damages and a further £37,041.61 in special damages to compensate for financial losses.
The presiding judge, Mrs Justice Thornton also took the opportunity to criticise the term ‘revenge porn’, stating:
“[it] conveys the impression that a victim somehow deserved what happened to them. The description suggested by counsel and used in this judgment, is image-based abuse.”
The claimant had found a concealed camera in the bathroom of the home she shared with her former partner, and came to learn that material of her had surfaced on a pornographic website alongside a photo of her face.
The defendant was convicted of voyeurism and other sexual offences in 2020, receiving a two-year suspended sentence and an order to sign the sex offenders register for ten years.
The case, FGX v Stuart Gaunt, found that although the images were not of a sexual nature, the couple were at the time in an intimate and personal relationship and the images circulated were of an intimate nature.
The defendant did not provide a defence to the High Court for the claim.
Justice Thornton concluded that the chances of the circulated images being replicated elsewhere were high, and the evidence also indicated that the defendant had obtained payment for the upload of the images.
The effects of this act upon the claimant were severe, as she developed chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to such an extent that it was deemed “one of a minority of cases in which PTSD becomes chronic over several years causing an enduring personality change.”
The monetary award deemed suitable for general damages could not be identified from any existing case, though ABC and WH v Willock, Reid v Price, and Bell v Desporte were consulted in relation to intention infliction of harm.
Justice Thornton accepted that the “impacts on the claimant are akin to the impacts of sexual assault…albeit that the abuse…is image based rather than physical”.
After deciding upon the sum of £60,000 for general damages, she added “Aggravating features include the needless uploading of a photograph of the claimant’s face onto the pornographic website and the evidence that indicates the defendant obtained payment for the images.
“A further aggravating feature is the defendant’s failure to participate in these proceedings. His failure to do so has deprived the claimant of the opportunity to obtain information about the extent of publication, which remains a preoccupation for her and a barrier to her recovery.”
Psychiatric Injury
Psychiatric Injury is a field we specialise in with a fully in-house team, with a mixture of male and female legal professionals. If you have suffered anything similar to the above case, our team may be able to help you.
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Sexual abuse/domestic abuse claims – Oakwood Solicitors
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Jessica Rowson started as a Paralegal at Oakwood Solicitors in July 2010, qualifying as a Solicitor in September 2013. Following her qualifying as a Solicitor, Jessica established a niche department …
Psychological Injuries
The psychological state of an individual refers to their mental and emotional disposition and may be altered for the better or worse by biological factors. Psychological Injuries.
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