Extreme Porn and the Law - What Can Be Done and What Should Be Done

Yesterday, I attended a seminar at Durham University on extreme pornography and the law. Speakers and attendees came from all over the UK, coming from universities, rape counseling centers, or as people who had interaction with the UK laws on extreme porn.

The seminar started by exploring some of the ways the current laws for England and Wales, set out in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (CJIA), are misunderstood or misapplied. Professor Erika Rackley discussed the failure of the law to include images portraying rape under the umbrella of extreme porn.

Following Rackley there was a presentation by Simon Walsh, a barrister in London, and his interaction with the extreme porn laws. His presentation highlighted how easily the current laws are able to be misused and abused. His case exemplified how such laws can be used as a malicious attack on sexual minorities.