The act of distributing nude or sexually explicit images without consent-often colloquially referred to as "revenge porn"-has become an issue of popular concern and the product of frequent news headlines both in Canada and internationally. Activist and academic work has largely focused on gaining recognition of the harms of nonconsensual intimate image distribution (NCIID) and campaigning for its specific criminalization; yet, little research has been done to analyze how this act is actually being responded to in the everyday practice of the law and to determine the broader social impacts of these legal responses to and understandings of NCIID. Thus, in this dissertation, I undertake a critical discourse analysis of NCIID case law in Canada. Through this research, I map and analyze the ongoing legal construction of and response to NCIID and trouble many of the prevailing assumptions regarding the nature of NCIID and the efficacy of legal responses to this act. My discursive analysis of legal responses to NCIID utilizes anti-carceral, pro-sex, intersectional, and critical legal feminisms (along with queer theory and theorizations of technology and photography) to determine what NCIID is "coming to mean" (Crocker 2008, 90) in law. I find that NCIID is a complex issue involving: a diversity of victims and offenders, a range of harms, a plethora of potential framings, and a variable relationship to digital technologies. Ultimately, I argue that an analysis of the efficacy of responding to NCIID in law must consider this diversity of cases and the socio-legal impacts of various constructions of and responses to NCIID. My research finds that Canadian judges have largely understood NCIID as an extremely harmful act requiring denunciation and deterrence (often via incarceration). Although this may be understood by many "revenge porn" activists and researchers as an unproblematic development that demonstrates the effectiveness of legal responses to NCIID, I argue that it is necessary to critically analyze the unexpected consequences and shortcomings of responding to NCIID through law. I feel so incredibly privileged to have worked with a fantastic doctoral committee and to have been involved in the critical academic and activist communities at Carleton University. I've been inspired and supported by so many wonderful people here and I will miss you all very much. I would like to thank my external committee members Laura Horak and Andrea Slane for the time and energy they put into this process, I appreciated and enjoyed your challenges and contributions. Thank you also to the administrative staff of the Law & Legal Studies department, namely Andrew Squires and Barb Higgins, who have always been so caring and giving. In would also like to thank: My supervisor Lara Karaian: you truly inspire me with the depth of your intellect. You've taught me how to ask hard questions and challenge others while always remaining kind and thoughtful. You are such an amazing scholar and person. My committee member Ummni Khan: Thank you for su...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.