Lawmakers from the Gabriela Party-list have proposed to penalize a person who records, reproduces and distributes videos showing the victim’s private area or naked body without her consent causing emotional or psychological distress or suffering.

Reps. Emmi De Jesus and Luzviminda Ilagan said House Bill 6815, which defines Electronic Violence Against Women (E-VAW), seeks to amend Republic Act 9262 or Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act by eliminating any creative legal defense that may be used by violators of the law to manipulate technology to inflict violence against women and children.

De Jesus cited the rising incidence of E-VAW in the country even with with Republic Act 9995 or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009 because the special relationship among parties under R.A. 9262 was not taken into account.

E-VAW refers to any act that involves the use or exploitation of information and communications technology that causes or is likely to cause mental, emotional or psychological distress or suffering to the victim.

Under the measure, it is unlawful to record, reproduce or distribute video/s showing the victim’s naked body, genitals, pubic area, buttocks or breast without her consent.

The measure shall penalize persons who upload or share without the consent of the victim any media that contain pictures, voice or video with lewd, indecent or sexual content or context.

Likewise, harassing or threatening the victim, stalking and using the victim’s picture, video, voice, name or any other aspect of the victim’s identity in any video game, phone application, program and the like, which puts or tends to put the victim in a bad light, shall be penalized by imprisonment or fine.

The bill also calls for the immediate block, blacklist or removal of the images or applications in questioned.*PNA