According to Statistics Canada, the number of cases in which intimate images have been shared without consent is increasing.
Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette chose an original manner on Wednesday evening in which to announce the government’s intention to legislate against the sharing of sexual images without consent.
In a video posted on the Jolin-Barrette’s X account, a text reading “a little glimpse of my evening yesterday” followed by a blurred image of someone who appears to be naked is followed by another text that reads “one teen out of 5 has already received an intimate image of a person who did not consent to it.”
Afterward, the minister appears on the video to describe the sharing of such images as a “scourge” the Coalition Avenir Québec government intends to attack.
“It could be your daughter, your son, your sister. It just takes one text to shatter someone,” he says.
Proposed legislation will be tabled on Thursday, titled “Law aimed at countering the sharing of intimate images without consent and improving the protection and support in civil matters of victims of violence.”
According to Statistics Canada, the number of cases in which intimate images have been shared without consent is increasing, going from 726 in 2019 to 1,168 in 2023.
The issue of sextortion came to national attention when a 15-year-old resident of British Columbia committed suicide in 2012 after being victimized by an online harasser.
With additional reporting by Brieanna Charlebois.