People Sending Unsolicited D**k Pics In Finland Could Soon Be Jailed For Up To Six Months

Authorities in Finland are hoping to crack down on virtual harassment in the form of unsolicited explicit messages.

The current law only recognises sexual harassment if it's physical. People can still be prosecuted for sending naked photos or videos however it comes under defamation laws, which don't recognise the sexual dimension of the act.

But, lawmakers want to change that and will be introducing a bill to change the legislation 'sometime next year'.

The justice ministry spokesman said the rule will be updated to include 'harassment verbally, through pictures or messages, taking photos of another or exposing oneself'. The punishment for breaking this new law will carry a fine or a prison sentence for up to six months and will depend on the severity of the offence.

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Finland was encouraged to change the rules after a study found a shockingly high number of women admitted to being sexually harassed online.

Plan International found more than half of the 14,000 girls and young women who were surveyed around the world said they had been targeted at least once. The research also found 35 per cent of the 15 to 25-year-olds had received 'sexual or explicit photos or images'.

Finland's Senior legislative advisor Sami Kiriakos said: "The studies based on questionnaires show that sexual harassment is quite common and that the victims of this type of behaviour are most often female, so it is very relevant to consider how it should be dealt with in law.

"These types of offences, or virtually anything that occurs on the web, may be very difficult to investigate.

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"[But] investigative authorities do have coercive measures which apply to sexual offences if certain conditions are met, such as access to telecommunications data."

The rule will also apply to women sending people unsolicited naked pictures of themselves.

That's not the only law that could soon be updated in the Scandinavian country.

Finland is also hoping to change the legal definition of rape. The updated legislation would be altered to mean sex without consent rather than physical violence or the threat of physical violence to be present.

Topics: News, Technology

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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