Non-consensual intimate image abuse (revenge porn): reporting it to the police

In this section:

We understand reporting to the police might feel like a big step. You might feel anxious or scared. We want you to know that you have done nothing wrong and we are here to help. 

Non-consensual intimate image abuse, or revenge porn, is a serious sexual offence. This means you will have anonymity after reporting it to the police. Your name won't be in any publications, like news articles or journals. 

It's important you know that you can request support from the Revenge Porn Helpline whilst also reporting to the police. They can help get your images or videos taken down. They can also put you in touch with organisations and charities that can give you emotional and practical support.

Advice for reporting

When reporting to the police, it's helpful if you can give us evidence of what's happened. This could be screenshots, text messages, videos or photos. It's even more helpful if you can put the evidence in a timeline. Within this timeline, it’s useful if you can tell us how you were feeling and how it impacted you. This might be emotionally, like feelings of stress, anxiety or being scared. It could be socially, like problems with your family or friends.  It could also be that you have experienced an impact at your job, or your ability to work.

While we understand it might be difficult at the time, we recommend saving any evidence as soon as you can if it’s safe to do so. This is because social media platforms and adult sites may take your intimate images or videos down. The person who did this to you might also try and remove the images. If you can, try and save evidence somewhere only you can access.

You should also only take screenshots and screen recordings if you are sure the person in the images or videos is 18 or over. If you are unsure if everyone in the image or video is 18 or over, don’t screenshot, record, or share it with anyone, even the police. It could be a criminal offence.

If you decide to make a report to the police, we'll advise you on what you can do with the evidence. This includes when you should delete it. You must not keep this longer than you need to.

If you're not able to capture evidence, or you're worried it's not safe to do it, don't worry. 

You can still report what's happened to us, even without it.

Useful information we can use

The following information could be useful evidence if you have it:

• sender's name
• usernames
• user IDs
• the original images or videos
• screenshots or recordings of the images or videos where they've been shared and the person in them is 18 or over
• which platform, app, social media site, or online space you were using
• when it happened
• details of what was sent, written, or spoken in a voice note or video

Ways to report

You can report these crimes online.

Your report will be sent direct to our control room where it will be reviewed by the same team who answer our calls. 

Visit a police station

If you want to speak to an officer in person, we can provide a safe and comfortable environment at any of our police stations. 

If you need a translator, we can provide someone by phone to start with and later in person.