Image abuse victims ‘failed by shockingly low’ number of perpetrators charged

Less than 5% of intimate image abuse cases lead to a perpetrator being charged – despite the number of cases soaring over the past five years, new figures show.

Reports rose by 26.9% between July 2021 and February this year but charging rates remain ‘shockingly low’, the charity Refuge said.

Nobody was charged in more than half of all 21,905 offences recorded in total during the same period.

Around a quarter of cases fell through because of other evidential reasons, despite a perpetrator being identified and the victim supporting the investigation.

Refuge is publishing the findings today on the fifth anniversary of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which created the additional offence of threatening to share intimate images following a successful campaign by the charity.

Emma Pickering, Head of Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment at Refuge, said: ‘Five years on from the Domestic Abuse Act, survivors of intimate image abuse are being failed far too often.

‘These troubling police figures lay bare the stark disparity between the sheer number of reports compared to the shockingly low charge rates, and without a serious improvement in police response, survivors will continue to miss out on justice while perpetrators evade accountability.’

Refuge ambassador Sharon Gaffka has long been the target of image abuse.

Speaking to Metro at the charity’s Home Is Where The Hurt Is demonstration outside Parliament last month, she described discovering men sharing ‘semen images’ of her on social media.

So-called ‘semen images’ are a particularly vile form of image abuse, involving images with semen depicted on top of a hard copy of a non-intimate photo and then shared with others.

The Love Island star said: ‘The images weren’t predominantly holiday pictures, or lingerie shots.

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‘They were actually stills or videos of me talking about domestic abuse, talking about gender-based violence, and actually being fully clothed.’

While she managed to get the chat sharing the images closed down, Sharon told Metro: ‘I don’t believe that those men will ever be prosecuted for what they did to me, and to those images, and how I feel about myself as a result.’

Refuge sent Freedom of Information requests to all 43 police forces across England and Wales requesting the number of recorded offences and their outcomes, with 25 replying.

The number of intimate image abuse offences rose by 26.9% – from 4,058 to 5,151 – in the three years to the end of 2025.

In the same period, the proportion of cases resulting in a charge or summons fell from 5.8% in 2021/22 to 4.5% in 2024/25.

Of the total 21,905 offences recorded in total between July 2021 and February this year, only 4.8% (1,047) of suspects were charged or summonsed.

Nobody was charged in 56% (12,265) of those cases despite a perpetrator having been identified.

Since the introduction of the Domestic Abuse Act and the ‘threat to share’ offence, the charity’s specialist technology-facilitated abuse and economic empowerment team has not supported any survivors whose perpetrator has been convicted.

In response to the FOI data, Refuge is urging for significant improvements in police practice, including consistent training for police officers and other criminal justice agencies.

While the government’s violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy indicates plans for improved training for officers, the charity said ‘it is crucial this training is mandatory.

Ms Pickering said: ‘Mandatory police training is vital if women and girls are to feel confident that when they report intimate image abuse, they will be met with a response on par with the seriousness of the crime.

‘Tech companies must also be held responsible for the harm allowed to persist on their platforms at the expense of women’s safety.

‘Only then will women and girls feel empowered to use technology safely, as they deserve.’

Refuge is also calling on the government to urgently implement impending legislative reforms to ensure that tech companies are held accountable.

Earlier this month, the government tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that would see tech bosses facing jail if their companies fail to comply with Ofcom’s enforcement decisions to remove non-consensual intimate images.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: ‘Too many women have had their lives shattered by having their intimate images shared online without consent.

‘This Government is uncompromising in our mission to protect women and girls online, and we have taken action to stop tech firms from publishing this abusive content.

‘In February, we told platforms that they must remove reported non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours.

‘Now we are going further by introducing measures meaning that senior tech executives could be criminally liable if their companies fail to act when required to do so by Ofcom.

‘Protecting women and girls online is not optional, it is a responsibility that sits squarely with every tech company’s leadership.’

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