Law Professor. Advisor. Commentator.
Expert on Violence Against Women & Girls
Opinion
9 April 2024
Deepfake porn: why we need to make it a crime to create it, not just share it
The ‘invisible threat’ of deepfake sexual abuse is now pervading the lives of women and girls. It can happen to any one of us, at any time and there is little we can do about it. It’s time to consider criminalising the creation of deepake porn.
1 October 2023
(Clare McGynn and Fiona Vera-Gray, The Journal)
Clare McGlynn and Fiona Vera-Gray argue that responsibility for enabling and legitimising AI generated fakeporn and fakenudes lies with search engines like Google and the mainstream porn industry.
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7 July 2023
If someone posts your private photos online, there has been little you can do about it – how changes in the law will finally help victims
(Clare McGlynn, Durham University, The Conversation)
In 2015, Keeley Richards-Shaw found her name and personal life splashed all over the media. Her photo, her job and links to her Facebook page were all published.
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15 February 2022
Don’t watch Pam and Tommy – the series turns someone’s trauma into entertainment
(Alishya Dhir Durham University and Clare McGlynn, Durham University, The Conversation)
The show has been marketed as a feminist reclaiming, but at an emotional and traumatic cost to Pamela Anderson.
3 February 2022
Pornography platforms, the EU Digital Services Act and Image-Based Sexual Abuse
(Clare McGlynn and Lorna Woods)
As the European Union debates new regulations to reduce online harms, Professors Clare McGlynn and Lorna Woods consider proposals to reduce the prevalence and impact of image-based sexual abuse by imposing enhanced requirements on pornography websites hosting user-generated content. The full text of their expert opinion prepared for HateAid examining these measures is available here.
22 July 2021
A proposed new law criminalising cyberflashing is welcome – but it has one major flaw
(Clare McGlynn, The Independent)
The proposals are an important first step but introduce hurdles that will make prosecutions extremely challenging.
28 May 2021
Opinion: Sexually violent pornography is being promoted to first-time users of top sites
(Fiona Vera-Gray and Clare McGlynn, The Journal)
A comprehensive study by Dr Fiona Vera-Gray and Professor Clare McGlynn of Durham University uncovered worrying levels of access to violent pornography.
24 March 2021
Cyberflashing can be frightening and humiliating for women – so why isn’t it a crime?
(Clare McGlynn and Kelly Johnson, The Independent)
In the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder, it’s time the government put an end to unsolicited sharing of explicit photos
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23 October 2019
What does Campus Justice mean for survivors of sexual violence?
(Clare McGlynn and Magdalena Furgalska, Social and Legal Studies Blog)
12 July 2019
Cyber Flashing And Deepfake Porn Are Harming Women Right Now – They Need More Urgent Protection
(Clare McGlynn, Huffington Post)
11 July 2019
Universities should offer restorative justice for sexual misconduct victims
(Clare McGlynn, Times Higher Education)
Facilitated meetings can encourage early admissions of guilt from perpetrators and provide recognition of victims’ experiences, says Clare McGlynn
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1 July 2019
Sexual abuse happens online, too – but current laws leave too many victims unprotected
(Erika Rackley, University of Kent; Clare McGlynn, Durham University, and Kelly Johnson, Durham University, ​The Conversation)
Laws against ‘revenge porn’, upskirting, deepfake pornography are piecemeal, and a review will take years to conduct. Here are three things government can do now to support victims.
28 June 2019
Porn Website T&Cs Are A Works Of Fiction. We Need Radical Measures To Take Them On
(Clare McGlynn and Fiona Vera-Gray, Huffington Post)
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11 December 2018
It's Time The Government Recognised The Harm Of Upskirting And Image-based Sexual Abuse
(Clare McGlynn and Kelly Johnson, Huffington Post)
23 November 2018
(Fiona Vera-Gray and Clare McGlynn, Huffington Post)
15 June 2018
‘Upskirting’ and ‘revenge porn’: the need for a comprehensive law
(Erika Rackley, University of Birmingham and Clare McGlynn, Durham University)
Victims of image based sexual abuse deserve legal clarity.
17 December 2017
Why Laws On Sexual History Evidence Still Need Reform
(Clare McGlynn, Huffington Post)
27 October 2017
Policing Upskirting: It's Serious, Not Funny
(Clare McGlynn and Aoife O’Donoghue, Huffington Post)
15 August 2017
Why ‘upskirting’ needs to be made a sex crim
(Clare McGlynn, Durham University and Erika Rackley, University of Birmingham, The Conversation)
Highly distressing and intrusive, but not illegal.
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19 March 2017
'Revenge Porn' Is A Form Of Sexual Assault
(Clare McGlynn, Huffington Post)
It is vital that it is recognised in law and policy that image-based sexual abuse is a form of sexual violence
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17 March 2017
Should we be able to sue the police when they fail to properly investigate a rape case?
(Clare McGlynn, iNews comment)
5 March 2017
Should Porn Be On The School Curriculum?
(Clare McGlynn, Huffington Post)
This is the question now being asked following the Government's announcement that it is to make relationships and sex education compulsory in all English schools. And the answer should be an unequivocal yes.
19 January 2017
Watching Porn In Public - A Modern Form Of Street Harassment?
(Clare McGlynn, Huffington Post)
But just because the criminal law has little role does not mean viewing porn in public is ok. It's yet another commonplace form of street harassment, of sexual harassment, like having to put up with wolf-whistling. People viewing porn in public know they are making others uncomfortable, or worse.
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Autumn 2016
A middle way? Restorative justice and domestic violence (Clare McGlynn)
9 March 2016
Not ‘revenge porn’, but abuse: let’s call it image-based sexual abuse
(Clare McGlynn and Erika Rackley, Everyday Victim Blaming)
18 November 2015
New law on 'revenge porn' is 'unlikely' to tackle hackers distributing intimate images
(Clare McGlynn and Erika Rackley, Holyrood)
22 May 2015
The cultural harm of rape pornography | Free Speech Debate
Erika Rackley and Clare McGlynn consider the evidence for this ‘cultural harm’ and argue that education is the best way to counter it.
15 April 2015
We Need A New Law to Combat ‘Upskirting’ and ‘Downblousing’
(Clare McGlynn & Julia Downes, Inherently Human)
Why we need a new law to combat 'upskirting' and 'downblousing'.
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16 February 2015
The new law against ‘revenge porn’ is welcome, but no guarantee of success
(Clare McGlynn, Durham University and Erika Rackley, University of Birmingham, The Conversation)
Police and prosecutors in the UK are now equipped with a new criminal offence in order to tackle so-called revenge pornography – where typically an abusive or vengeful ex-partner distributes explicit sexual…
23 July 2014
The law must focus on consent when it tackles revenge porn
(Erika Rackley, Durham University and Clare McGlynn, Durham University, The Conversation)
Earlier this week, the House of Lords debated what the prime minister, David Cameron, has described as the “appalling” and “dreadful” practice of so-called revenge pornography. This is where explicit images…
12 February 2014
Why criminalise the possession of rape pornography?
(Clare McGlynn and Erika Rackley, The New Statesman)
It is time for a new law which places the cultural harms of pornography at its centre.
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11 February 2014
Laws against rape porn must do more to address cultural harm
(Clare McGlynn, Durham University and Erika Rackley, Durham University, The Conversation)
Hidden amongst the more high-profile reforms in the newly published Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2014 is a proposal to extend the law on extreme pornography.
10 June 2013
Rape should be ‘extreme’ enough for English porn laws
(Erika Rackley, Durham University and Clare McGlynn, Durham University, The Conversation)
Five years after the government enacted a controversial law criminalising the possession of extreme pornography, it is clear that the legislation is deeply flawed, not least because it fails to cover pornographic images of rape.
Spring 2013
Restorative Justice Council’s magazine Resolution, pp 8-9
"I Just Wanted Him to Hear Me" Sexual Violence and the Possibilities of Restorative Justice
Professor Clare McGlynn of Durham University considers the results of an exploratory study of a restorative justice conference involving an adult survivor of child rape and other sexual abuse.
19 May 2011
Ken Clarke was right to start a debate about sentencing in rape cases
(Clare McGlynn, The Guardian)