What can you do if you have experienced a form of cyber violence?
In our legislation cybercrime does not exist, but it can take the form of the following crimes, which are committed by means of infoormation and communication technologies (email, social media, internal work chats, etc.): threats, blackmail, harassment (messages received on social media, private or public, that cause fear through their frequency or content), sexual harassment, child pornography, violation of privacy, violating the privacy of correspondence.
What should the victim do?
Firstly, it is important, if possible, to gather evidence to prove the existence of violence against you.
In a criminal trial, on principle, any type of proof is admissible, excepting the situations explicitly set out by the law.
Thus, proof such as screeonshots of conversations, audio/video recordings, witnesses who were near the victim when the cyber-violence happened (for example, the victim was watching a video on their phone with a friend and received the threatening or blackmailing message in that moment, which was read by the friend as well).
Keeping in mind that nowdays there are more and more options offered by social media through which conversations, images or audio recordings automatically delete themselves after being sent, it is better for the victim to capture the messages in question immediately.
In general, aggressors act repeatedly, so that if it was impossible for the victim to capture messages or recordings through which violence was committed at the time, they could take measures for the future, including by installing apps on their phone that can record the content on their screen.
In the case that there is no imminent danger for the victim's physical integrity/safety, it is preferable that the police be notified through a complaint and not the 112 emergency service.
Example of notice for a complaint: The victim receives a message on Instagram messenger from their boss through which they demand that the victim has sex with them, otherwise they will get fired.
Example of notice for 112 emergency services (imminent danger): The victim recieves a message through WhatsApp from their ex through which they let them know that the ex is headed to their house to kill them/harm them because of being broken up with.
Regarding crimes such as threats, harassment, violation of privacy or privacy of correspondence, it is necessary to formulate a prior complaint.
Regarding crimes such as blackmail or child pornography, it is enough to notify the police.
When notifying the police, it is recommended that the victim attaches any gathered evidence/proof (they can be copied on a CD, a USB drive or printed on paper). Even if the evidence has been copied and submitted to the police, the original copies must NOT be deleted from the victim's phone of computer.
Even if the acts themselves are not ruled as crimes, depnding on the concrete way they were committed they can make up the following crimes:
If you are threatened then this crime can be happening:
Article 206 - Threats
(1) The act of threatening a person with committing a crime or a harmful action against them or another person, if it is meant to induce a state of fear, is punishable with a prison sentence between 3 months and a year and a fine, without the possibility of the punishment outlasting the sanction provided by the law for the crime that was threatened.
(2) Criminal prosecution is set in motion on the prior complait of the injured party.
Blackmail is also considered a crime:
Article 207 - Blackmail
(1) Coercing a person to give, do, not do or suffer anything, with the purpose of unfairly gaining a non-poprietary use, for themselves or someone else, is punishable with a prison sentence between one and five years.
(2) Threatening to expose a real or imaginary act, compromising for the threatened person or a family member of theirs, with the purpose mentioned in parapgraph (1), is punishable with the same sentence.
(3) If the acts laid down in paragraphs (1) and (2) were committed with the aim of unfailry gaining a proprietary use, for themselves or someone else, the prison sentence is between 2 and 7 years.
Depending on how the images were obtained and how they are used, we could be talking about the following crimes:
Article 226 - Violation of privacy
(1) Interference with private life, without any right, by photographing, capturing or recording images, listening through technical means or audio recording a person in a home or room or outhouse or recording a private ocnversation is punishable with a prison sentence between one and 6 months or with fine.
(2) Disclosure, broadcasting, presenting or transmitting, without any right, of sounds, conversations or images set out in paragraph (1), to a person or to the public, is punishable with a prison sentence between 3 months and 2 year or with a fine.
Article 360 - Illegal access to an information system
(1) Access, without any right, to an information system is punishable with a prison sentence between 3 months and 3 years or with fine.
(2) The act set out in paragraph (1), committed with the aim of obtaining informational data, is punishable with a prison sentence between 6 months and 5 years.
(3) If the act set out in paragraph (1) was committed regarding an information system to which, though a series of procedures, devices or specialised programs, acces is restricted or forbidden for some user categories, the punishment is a prison sentence between 2 and 7 years.