Why a Survivors’ Bill of Rights?

Image-based sexual abuse survivors experience an act of sexual violence that is is facilitated online through the nonconsensual creation and distribution of  intimate images. The trauma and threats to both further online and offline harms leads to lasting harms that often follow survivors for years to come. Yet, when seeking justice, protection and healing, many survivors face massive challenges. At the core, the Survivors’ Bill of Rights is based on the consent of individuals whose  bodily autonomy as well as privacy should be upheld. A cultural shift towards an online world where consent and bodily autonomy is central to digital rights will require more than laws, policy or technology regulation, yet these rights below are central towards the justice and protection of those whose rights and safety have been violated.

Foundational Elements

• Affirmative Consent:  Everyone deserves the right to affirmative and continued consent of their likeness being published online or by other digital means

• Accountability for Abusers: Perpetrators of image-based sexual abuse should be held accountable for their actions.

• Regulation of Technology Companies: There is a need for stricter regulations governing the behavior of technology companies to prevent abuse.

• Legislative Action: Laws must be enacted and enforced to safeguard against image-based sexual abuse.

• Centering Survivor Expertise: It is crucial to center survivors’ expertise in the development of legislative and policy reforms to ensure their rights and needs are adequately addressed.

• Cultural Inclusiveness and Diversity: We celebrate and embrace the necessity of adapting to local and cultural contexts. 

What We Believe

Advancing a cultural shift towards an online environment that prioritizes affirmative consent and and the right to one’s likeness is essential to protecting everyone globally. We also believe that centering survivor expertise in all production of legislative, policy and other reforms in critical to ensuring that survivors’ rights are protected.  The Survivors’ Bill of Rights is an evolving document meant to be updated and re-designed to adapt to the shifts of culture, policy and abuse via technological means. 

•  Survivors consent is paramount and central to any conversations around image-based sexual abuse policy, law, technological or other advances;

• Survivors have a right, in media or otherwise, to determine how their lived experience and expertise are attributed;

• The intersectional forms of image-based sexual abuse include other forms of sexual violence, cyber harassment and both on and offline harms that should be considered in law, policy and technological advancements to prevent IBSA and protect survivors;

• There is no acceptable scenario by which image-based sexual abuse is allowable. One’s race, gender, public life or engagement in commercially sharing online intimate or sexual content does not negotiate this right.

• We recognize that different groups and cultures may define what is intimate or sexual and that laws vary in how they address these definitions and that the cultural and personal values are central to how one defines consent.

Technology

Right to safety by design in products that prioritize user protection against image-based sexual abuse (IBSA).  

Right to not have one’s likeness used for unauthorized and nonconsensual of one’s likeness for creating authentic or synthetic abuse content on apps, websites or any technology platform.

Right to clear and actionable User Agreements that specifically address IBSA, including terms of use and removal policies, and referrals to support services.

Right to a dedicated reporting area for IBSA on platforms and clear mechanisms for contacting websites about violations. 

Right to timely removal of nonconsensual intimate images within 48 hours and protection against doxxing, with the ability to appeal removal decisions.  

Right to not have images, video, and audio used in the generation of intimate material of others. Re generative AI

Healing and Support:

Right to culturally and trauma-informed hotlines, mental health and healing services for all survivors that takes into account those most vulnerable towards IBSA.

Right to access to mental health professionals trained in how to work with platforms and technology to remove abuse content and protect survivors.

Right to access to information to updated resources and support in the image-removal process and access to legal and mental health services

Right for survivors who identify within specific marginalized groups, including but not limited to, sex workers, LGBTQ+ two spirit, migrants and minorities, to receive culturally sensitive support that aligns to their lived experience

Right to request information on the status of their requests for image removal when being handled by hotline or helpline.

Law and Policy: 

• Right to legal protection from all forms of image-based sexual abuse by individuals and companies.

• Right to the statute to no statue of limitations for the creation or publication of nonconsensual intimate imagery.

• Right to define what constitutes an intimate image of oneself.

• Right to revoke consent for sharing, storage or publication of such images despite any prior approval or sharing or acceptance of compensation for images.

• Right to protection against publication of intimate images for extortion or coercive control.

• Right for all survivors, regardless of gender, race, or background, to full protection, restitution, and victim compensation for image-based sexual abuse.  

• Right to anonymity when reporting intimate image abuse, and to hold accountable those individuals or entities who enable or are negligent in the removal of such content. 

Law Enforcement:

Right to have image-based sexual abuse criminally investigated and evidence taken as a serious sex crime.

Right to be informed about legal protections against image-based sexual abuse upon filing a criminal complaint.

Right to file an order of protection against any individual or entity that covers all both on and offline abuse associated to the nonconsensual creation or publication of intimate images.

Right to a transparent and trauma-informed criminal process from state of filing a criminal complaint to court proceedings conclude, including access to police reports and case updates upon request.

Right to trauma-informed handling of evidence and expedited processing for legal protection, including protection orders and arrest status of the person responsible for one’s intimate image abuse.

Right to free victim advocacy and referrals for mental health and support services upon filing a criminal complaint.

Right to immunity against arrest or prosecution when reporting incidences of image-based sexual abuse.

Right to be treated with fairness, dignity, non-judgement or shame and respect throughout the investigative and court process.