Quebec tables bill to fight 'scourge' of intimate images shared without consent

Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette vowed Thursday to address the issue of sharing intimate images without consent and tabled a bill that aims to tackle what he calls a "scourge."

If adopted, Bill 73 would make it faster for victims to obtain a court order that prohibits someone from sharing the images.

According to Statistics Canada, cases of non-consensual sharing of intimate images are on the rise. The federal agency reports that the number of cases went from 726 in 2019 to 1,168 in 2023.

And the sextortion that can follow has exploded. The number of sextortion cases reported to police in Canada has nearly tripled in just under a decade. Much of this increase occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a video posted on X, Jolin-Barrette said one in five teenagers has received an image from someone who had not consented to its sharing.

"It could be your daughter, your son, your sister. All it takes is one text to break someone," he said. "It is time for victims to be better supported."

The bill extends the scope of protection orders and provides measures to help victims of intimate partner and sexual violence testify, including the possibility of testifying remotely and being accompanied by a support dog or a person they trust.

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Sophie Gagnon, lawyer and executive director at Juripop, says this bill creates a new recourse for victims which will allow them to obtain an order from the court "extremely quickly, within a few hours or a few days" that will require an individual or a business to stop sharing non-consensual intimate photos online.

If individuals refuse to comply with a judge's order, they will be given fines between $500 and $5,000 per day. 

Gagnon says the bill is a good step forward because preventing the sharing of such images can be really hard, with the issue being amplified "day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute."

Jennifer Drummond, manager of the Sexual Assault Resource Centre at Concordia University, also encourages the bill. 

"I like to see that this issue of technology-facilitated sexual violence is being taken seriously," she said.

Bill 73 also includes training for professionals who are intervening in these cases, which Drummond welcomes.

"There have been cases where people have taken their own lives because of this kind of violence. And so anything that is put in place that can protect victims, that can hold perpetrators accountable, that can offer that extra support, is going to be a positive thing," she said.