Should unsolicited dick pics be an arrestable offence?

[Asta19]

Now i’m not talking about pre agreed photo swapping between two consenting adults. Obviously in that scenario it’s their own business. I’m talking, guy you hardly know sending an unasked for dick pic. Any of us who have online dated likely have experience of this. Exposure in person is, quite rightly, an arrestable offence but it seems that there is no such protection online. Why? You could argue “don’t look at the pic then” but would you say to an exposure victim “just don’t look” no of course not. Taking my own experience, and that of friends and relatives, many of us have fallen victim to the unasked for dick pic. I feel we have successfully dealt with harassment/indecent behaviour in real life. For example it has now been illegal (and a sex offence) for some time, to pinch a woman’s bum. Yet this type of behaviour has transferred online and we’re supposed to just accept it. AIBU? Interested in others thoughts on this.

While it may technically be an offence currently, it’s not being investigated/prosecuted. I agree police resources are a major issue. But I do think there needs to be a shift at some point. We shouldn’t just have to accept this as a “hazard” of talking to a man online. I think if there were even just a few successful prosecutions, that would be enough to make a lot of men think twice. I agree with a pp that dating sites could do more in terms of their usage policies and try to help to stamp this out. And yes a woman sending an unsolicited indecent pic should also be prosecuted, but as many pp’s point out, that’s far less common.

I think it’s pretty clear that the general consensus is virtually no women enjoy getting an unasked for dick pic. Maybe we could be generous and say 5% of women would be happy with it. That’s clearly a really low success rate for these men that send them. So why do they do it? You have to then assume they are getting some kind of “buzz” from it, like a flasher does. Which is pretty sick when you think about it.

@Asta19

We shouldn’t just have to accept this as a “hazard” of talking to a man online.

Agree with this Asta.

I think it's terribly sad and wrong on so many levels, but yes, women DO tend to think this is just a hazard of dating on line, and with them being a woman, they just have to roll with the punches, and suck it up, and just accept it's part of being a woman. Women accept all kinds of shit, because they don't feel they can complain, or that fear they won't be taken seriously if they do.

I feel so desperately sorry for young women these days, because I know what they are going through, and what they continue to go through. And I know that it's happening now, it was happening many, many decades ago, and it will still be happening for many, many decades to come.... Women having to tolerate unwanted sexual advances, sexual harassment, cat-calling, leering, and unwanted attention from men.

Men who often don't like it at ALL when they are rejected. Some will just call her a nasty name, and say or imply that she should be grateful for the attention, but some men turn nasty, and will make the woman's life a misery.

It's disgusting what women have to tolerate during their lives..... Periods, menopause, pregnancy, childbirth, being expected to be the main carer of the children, putting her career on hold to enable her to have a family, being second to men in the workplace, and rarely having health issues/health worries taken seriously. On top of that, women have to tolerate sex pests/unwanted attention/sexual harassment, and even sexual abuse.

And I don't think I can see things changing anytime soon..

Who'd be a fucking woman eh?!

Can you imagine the conversation.
Were there any distinguishable features madam?
Send it back with a little finger emoji, with "Is that all you've got"?
It usually starts about y6/7 at school, you'd think they'd grown out of it as adults.