Love Island star joins fight against revenge porn

Reality TV star Zara McDermott is joining forces with one of the UK’s largest domestic abuse charities to help take its fight against revenge porn to Parliament.

Refuge is calling for anyone who threatens to share intimate photographs of another person without their consent to face prosecution.

A law against disclosing intimate photos came into force in 2015 but the charity wants to see this strengthened to prevent anyone trying to bully or blackmail their victim with threats.

Former Love Island contestant Ms McDermott will join representatives from Refuge in Parliament Square at 11am on Thursday to help take the fight to MPs.

Ms McDermott, who was previously a parliamentary aide, will help launch Refuge’s animated campaign which will be broadcast on the side of a van.

Refuge ambassador and domestic abuse survivor Natasha Saunders and Refuge policy manager Cordelia Tucker O’Sullivan will also be present.

They are calling for an amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill when it returns to the House of Lords in the coming days.

According to Refuge data, one in seven young women have been threatened this way despite the law against revenge porn – often by current or former partners.

The charity says victims face barriers to justice because the act of making these threats is not yet a criminal offence.