Blog Posts
Age verification: Where do things stand?
After the Digital Economy Act passed in July 2017, implementation of age verification has been repeatedly delayed. We were initially told it would start being enforced in April 2018, but it was put back till the end of 2018. In November the Minister for Digital, Margot James, claimed that it will come into effect by […]
Research Alert: Sexualised Marginalised Bodies Toolkit (2021)
General overview of the research Backlash interviewed Dr Rachela Colosi and Dr Nick Cowen on their ongoing research, and the development of their Sexualised Marginalised Bodies Toolkit. In this interview, Dr Colosi and Dr Cowen outlined the purpose and aims of their research, as well as some initial findings, expected […]
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (2021) update
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC, 2021) which was published on 9th March 2021, and had passed its second stage reading on 16th March 2021 (Green Court Chambers, 2021). Backlash UK have been following the progress of the Bill and the subsequent public response to the Bill’s proposals. […]
A commentary of the progress of the Domestic Abuse Bill (2020) and the proposed non-fatal strangulation legislation
Domestic violence and abuse are pervasive and ubiquitous social issues which plague our society, causing direct harm (occasionally resulting in death) to the individuals and a range of indirect harms to both victims and their families. In the year ending March 2019 ‘an estimated 2.4 million adults aged 16 to […]
Efforts in Inefficacy: Reflections on the Digital Economy Act and the looming spectre of the Online Harms Bill
The current landscape of pornography legislation in the UK is an ever-shifting entity, struggling to both accurately represent the plethora of sexualities that exist in our society and to effectively and fairly govern the ways in which these sexualities are portrayed. Since the advent of the internet, the public has […]
Britain’s Pornographer and Puritan Coalition
This is a cross-post from Notes on Liberty. Brexit isn’t the only ridiculous thing happening in the United Kingdom. In April, the British government is rolling out statutory adult verification for pornography websites and content platforms. This requires all adult content providers to have proof of age or identity for […]
Bristol University research into sex work in the UK
Two Backlash volunteers are participating in a regional meeting for the Bristol University research on sex work in the UK tomorrow. Backlash responded to this consultation in July last year; discussing the ways that criminalising sex work harms more marginalised workers and advocating for the decriminalisation of sex work as a […]
Upskirting now illegal in the UK
Good news for those who care about consent: this week ‘upskirting’ became illegal in the UK. This refers to the act of photographing under someone’s clothing without their consent and usually without their knowledge. The new law makes it illegal for anyone of any gender to violate someone’s consent in this way, if […]
Pandora / Blake on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour
On February 11, 2019, Pandora / Blake, independent porn producer and spokesperson for Backlash, spoke on Woman’s hour to debate the implications of the the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to liberalise the guidelines for interpreting the Obscene Publications with Prof. Rosa Freedman (University of Reading). You can listen to the […]
Obscenity law liberalised
This is a cross-post from my contribution to the Adam Smith Institute blog. Last week the Crown Prosecution Service published updated guidance for prosecutions under the Obscene Publications Act (1959). Legal campaigning has brought about a big change: the liberal tests of harm, consent and legality of real acts are […]