header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
28 April 2023 / Zahra Awaiz-Bilal
Issue: 8022 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Personal injury , Damages , Technology
printer mail-detail

Image-based abuse: routes to justice

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
120627
How can the civil law help victims of image-based sexual abuse? Zahra Awaiz-Bilal reports on a landmark decision of the High Court
  • The High Court’s decision in the recent case of FGX v Gaunt, where a victim of image-based sexual abuse is awarded nearly £100,000 in compensation, highlights how the civil law can help victims.
  • With offences of image-based sexual abuse on the rise, it also acts as a timely reminder for perpetrators that they will face justice for their actions in both the criminal and civil courts.

On 27 February 2023, the High Court handed down judgment in the case of FGX v Gaunt [2023] EWHC 419 (KB), which focused on image-based sexual abuse—known colloquially as ‘revenge porn’—and the impact this can have on a victim’s life, and in particular on their mental health.

The facts

FGX commenced a relationship with Gaunt in March 2016, and shortly thereafter moved in with him. In October 2017, she found a camera concealed in their bathroom.

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll