Damages Awarded Under Intimate Images Act

A recent decision of the Civil Resolution Tribunal applied the Intimate Images Act, awarding the Claimant $5,000 in damages. The Tribunal used the findings in the from the protection order, leaving the only issue to be decided being quantum of damages. The respondent failed to participate in the proceeding and was found in default.

The Civil Resolution Tribunal has jurisdiction under section 6 of the Intimate Images Protection Act, which creates a statutory tort for the nonconsensual sharing or threatened sharing of intimate images. Under the Act, the tribunal may order compensatory, aggravated and punitive damages up to the CRT's $5,000 monetary limit. Protection orders had previously been issued and the only issue before the tribunal in this hearing was whether the applicant was entitled to damages, and if so, how much. The respondent had accessed the applicant's phone and sent himself the intimate images of the applicant which he found on her phone. When the