Despite it being an offence to distribute or threaten to distribute intimate images without the consent of the person depicted in the photo or video, Orange police has never charged anyone.

Statistics on how many people have been charged in the Central West or even the state for 'revenge porn' - or image-based abuse as it is formally known - are not readily available, however it was understood to be a rarity when a man faced Orange Local Court last month for the crime.

The 36-year-old man - who the Central Western Daily has chosen not to name in order to protect the identity of the victim - was charged by Chifley Police in Bathurst for sharing an intimate image of his former partner as well as a video of her engaged in a sexual act.

He subsequently appeared in Orange Local Court where magistrate David Day said the man's actions were clearly intended to harm and degrade his former partner.

According to court documents, the intimate image and video of the woman was recorded by the offender when the two were still in a relationship.

Around six months after their separation, the sexual imagery had been sent to the victim through social media accompanied by 18 messages - many of them threatening and abusive in nature - over the space of three days.

At the time of his arrest at an Orange pub in February, the man had agreed the messages which accompanied the intimate images he sent the victim were threatening and intimidating. He also told police that he sent the video to "stir up her feelings".

For distributing the images as well as other offences including contravening a domestic violence order and drug possession, the man was sentenced to an 18-month Intensive Correction Order.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Personal Safety Survey, such image-based abuse, when in the context of a domestic violence situation, typically goes unreported so police data may not be indicative of the number of instances which actually occur.

Family Law solicitor Ellen Jones has had clients who expressed concern that former partners would "use" intimate images of them as their relationships broke down.

"I have only experienced these concerns being raised by women, although that does not mean it isn't a problem for men, too. There is not a great deal that we can do about preventing images from being misused," Mrs Jones said.

In some cases her clients told her their ex-partners had threatened to distribute the sexual images of them - which under the new civil penalties scheme is also considered image-based abuse and is a prosecutable offence.

"The people I have had raise it with me are people with concerns about it happening, rather than actual instances of it happening," Mrs Jones added.

"This might be because someone has threatened that they will do it, or just that the relationship breakdown has been particularly toxic."

In 2020 there was a 114 percent increase in the reporting of image-based abuse to the government agency eSafety compared to the previous year.

Since the new legislation for image-based abuse was passed by Parliament in 2018, eSafety was given more power to monitor and regulate revenge porn online. Individuals who do not comply with a request by eSafety to remove an intimate image can face civil penalties of up to $105,000 and prison time of up to five years.

"eSafety has the ability to give enforceable removal notices to the service on which an intimate image is located. In some cases, we may also be able to take action against the person who posted or threatened to post intimate images," a spokesperson told the Central Western Daily.

"Anyone experiencing image-based abuse can report to eSafety, even if they've also reported the matter to police. We liaise with police to ensure the action we take doesn't impede any criminal investigation."

According to Orange police station's Detective Chief Inspector Bruce Grassick, the Central West Police District has a number of specialist officers for handling image-based abuse.

In addition to a domestic violence team, specialist police are also available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims.

Victims of image-based abuse can report the matter to police or the eSafety Commissioner.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

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