Super-complaint alleges widespread police failures in tackling image-based abuse

#NotYourPorn is represented by human rights lawyers at Leigh Day. 

The complaint, entitled "That's what happens on the internet", draws on more than 100 survivor accounts, including 23 detailed case studies spanning 17 police forces, alongside responses gathered through a wider anonymous survey. 

The title comes from a response given by a police officer to one survivor and is said to reflect a broader pattern of dismissive attitudes towards offences that can have devastating and long-lasting consequences. 

Image-based abuse includes the creation, sharing or threatened sharing of intimate images without consent, including deepfake sexual images and so-called "revenge porn". 

#NotYourPorn and the Centre for Women's Justice say police responses have not kept pace with legal reforms, the scale of offending or the number of survivors seeking help. 

Survivors quoted in the complaint describe feeling dismissed, unsupported and left to manage the harm themselves. One said: "It felt like, to them, it wasn't a priority, it wasn't even a crime." Another said police involvement had "intensified" her distress, while a third said that after turning to the police for support, she "did not get any help." 

The organisations say the evidence shows image-based abuse is a growing problem. They point to Revenge Porn Helpline figures showing 24,786 reports in 2025, compared with 521 in 2015, with 98.9 per cent of 2025 reports made by women. 

The complaint also highlights growing concern about deepfake image abuse and says enforcement remains inadequate despite new criminal offences, with a 4.5 per cent charging rate for image-based abuse offences in 2025 and some forces recording rates below 1 per cent. 

Recurring concerns include allegations that officers fail to identify the correct offences, overlook links with domestic abuse and coercive control, communicate poorly, delay investigations, use victim-blaming language and ask survivors to gather evidence themselves. 

The complaint also says charging decisions and prosecution rates are not improving, many investigations are closed without action, referrals to specialist support are lacking and protective measures are rarely used. 

It alleges that police often fail to secure the removal of non-consensually shared intimate images from online platforms, leaving survivors to choose between trying to remove harmful content themselves or preserving evidence for a criminal investigation. 

Through the super-complaint, #NotYourPorn and the Centre for Women's Justice are calling for a national framework for policing image-based abuse, including making it a national policing priority, improving training and investigative standards, increasing coordination between police, the Crown Prosecution Service, Ofcom and other agencies, and ensuring automatic referrals to specialist support. 

They are also seeking improvements to charging decisions, greater accountability where investigations are closed prematurely and more transparency around police outcomes and prosecution data. 

Leigh Day human rights solicitor Claire Powell said: 

"Survivors have told us how police responses have left them feeling powerless, humiliated and as though they are somehow to blame for the crimes committed against them.  

"This super-complaint highlights the gap between the protections promised by the law and the reality many survivors experience. Without proper enforcement, perpetrators remain able to act with impunity while survivors are left without access to justice. 

"#NotYourPorn is calling for urgent improvements to establish a national standard for policing image-based abuse and ensure survivors receive the support and protection they deserve." 

Claire Powell is part of the Leigh Day human rights team representing #NotYourPorn alongside head of human rights and partner Tessa Gregory. 

Natasha Simonsen of Blackstone Chamber and Helen Law KC of Matrix are instructed. Funding for this case was provided by Law for Change.