Also this week marks a powerful step forward for digital safety in Vanuatu. Parliament has passed the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2024, and for the first time, there’s a legal shield against the dark side of the internet—image-based sexual abuse, non-consensual sharing of private photos, and other forms of sexual privacy violations.
For years, people have suffered in silence—photos shared without permission, personal videos leaked in group chats, and private moments turned into public shame. Now, there’s a clear message from the Government: Enough is enough.
📌 Section 4 – Communication Principles
These principles directly call out and ban:
(a) Communications that disclose sensitive personal facts about an individual.
(c) Communications that are grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing.
(e) Communications that make a false allegation.
(g) Communications that harass or cause harm to an individual.
These principles aren’t just words on paper—they’re a clear framework to challenge digital abuse.
📌 Section 5 – Meaning of Harm
“Harm means serious emotional distress.”
Let that sink in: If someone’s actions online leave you emotionally broken, that’s now recognized in law. Your pain is valid. Your feelings are legally protected.
📌 Section 11 – Offences
“A person who posts a digital communication with the intent to cause harm… and who causes harm to the individual… commits an offence.”
The message is crystal clear: if you share someone’s private content to embarrass or threaten them, you are committing a crime.
This is a win not just for survivors, but for every Vanuatu citizen who values respect and accountability in our digital spaces. Let’s use this law. Let’s educate our communities. Let’s report what’s wrong. And most importantly—let’s stand with those who have been harmed.
This isn’t just about justice. It’s about restoring dignity in a digital world that often forgets what it means to be human.
Mattdotvu 
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