A woman in British Columbia has been instructed by the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) to compensate her former partner with $35,000 for repeatedly distributing intimate images of him online as part of a deliberate effort to harass and distress him. The CRT’s ruling, released recently, revealed that the couple had been in a romantic relationship for nearly four years before separating. Following their breakup, the woman established multiple social media accounts on platforms like Facebook, some of which were designed to impersonate the man or individuals close to him. Additionally, she shared eight intimate images of him, displaying his face and, in some instances, his genitals.
In January, the woman was directed to delete the images and take all necessary steps to remove them, a directive she violated on 14 occasions between March and September. While one of the images was initially posted in early 2024, falling outside the two-year timeframe for claims under B.C.’s Intimate Image Protection Act, the tribunal determined that it remained accessible online until early December 2025. The tribunal reasoned that each day the image remained online caused ongoing harm, thus justifying a claim.
Despite not submitting a dispute response, the woman was deemed in default by the CRT and held liable for damages due to the image sharing. The tribunal acknowledged that the circulation of the man’s intimate images was adversely affecting his personal life and business. It also highlighted the woman’s continuous dissemination of the images post-instructions and her avoidance of communication from the CRT.
The CRT awarded $30,000 in compensatory damages and $5,000 in punitive damages to the man, in addition to $175 for tribunal fees and $444.20 for dispute-related costs. British Columbia, in 2024, joined eight other provinces in Canada in implementing an Intimate Image Protection Act to assist victims in reclaiming control of their private images and ensuring accountability for offenders through civil proceedings. By March, the act had resolved around 400 disputes in the province.
