To date, the unauthorized production and distribution of sexualized deepfakes is not a punishable offense, nor is the secret production of intimate images, such as in the sauna or other public places. Anyone who takes unauthorized photos or videos of naked people there has nothing to fear under criminal law under the current legal situation. But that should change in the future.
The federal government has introduced a law that is intended to close gaps in criminal law relating primarily to image-based sexual violence. According to this, perpetrators would have to expect imprisonment and/or fines for different offenses and those affected should be made easier to take action against the perpetrators. You can read an overview of what will apply in the future under the draft law and how victims can defend themselves here. You can find out which new criminal offenses the draft provides in detail in the announcement from the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) explained: »With the law against digital violence, we are ending impunity for perpetrators in the digital space. We create tailor-made rules for the different manifestations of digital violence. At the same time, we strengthen the rights of those affected. Anyone who experiences digital violence must be able to defend themselves effectively." Accordingly, digital violence has been dismissed as a side issue for too long, but that is over. "The law against digital violence represents an important and necessary rethink."
Yanni Gentsch sees “huge progress”
“It is important to me that a change now takes place and that it is clearly stated that I have been wronged and that those affected are being done wrong and that this gap in protection really exists and must be closed,” Yanni Gentsch tells SPIEGEL about the approved draft law. “This is such an important signal to all those affected and also from many of those affected, because we have been summoning the strength and courage to make progress on a regular basis for a year and a half.”
The woman from Cologne was jogging in the forest in February 2025 when she noticed a cyclist behind her who did not overtake her. The man apparently filmed her secretly and against her will - especially her bottom. She confronted him, asked him to delete the recordings and filmed herself doing it. She uploaded the video and it went viral. To date, the video has more than 16.4 million views on Instagram. You can read the interview with Gentsch at the time here.
»I'm super proud. Since day one, the response has been overwhelmingly overwhelming on a political level, on a social level, on a private level." The few negative experiences she had had were limited, and it was always clear to her that she was only serving as a projection surface.
Gentsch sees “huge progress” in the debate about sexual violence. Over the past year and a half, she has observed an “enormous change” in how it is talked about and who talks about it, even in private circles. According to Gentsch, those affected and their experiences are taken more seriously. »Be it just among each other, to encourage one another and find the perseverance to stand up for one another in public. Because perpetrators won’t work to change things.”
“Going public was definitely intense”
Another affected person commented on the draft law: “For us, the most important thing is that the crimes are punished,” Anne tells SPIEGEL. »It's nice to see that we were really able to make a difference.«
While visiting a sauna in July 2025, she and her friend Rebecca noticed a man secretly filming them. The two women reported him, but the public prosecutor's office closed an investigation against the man. »I had this letter in front of me and couldn't believe it. It says in black and white that he can take photos of naked women and won't be punished for it," Rebecca explained in an interview with SPIEGEL last year. You can read the full text of the case here.
»Going public was definitely intense. It's unpaid work that you do, a form of activism, educational work, creating visibility," says Anne, looking back on the past few months. It was exhausting to deal with comment columns. Male profiles in particular accused them of wanting to go public or making it up. “We don’t want to go public, we just want to draw attention to this problem,” says Anne. "And I ask myself how one can feel so attacked by it instead of showing solidarity."
Like Gentsch, Anne also sees progress in the debate. In her environment, she observed that “an incredible number” of women and FLINTA people showed solidarity and reported similar incidents. »The shame has to change sides, and I am especially happy when men show solidarity and support those affected and do educational work in their own circles.«
The three affected people are not the only ones who have started petitions on the topic of digital violence against women. After SPIEGEL's investigation into the Collien Fernandes case became known in March 2026, activist Kristina Lutz, Green Party politician Ricarda Lang and human rights activist Düzen Tekkal initiated the petition "In solidarity with Collien Fernandes: 10 demands on the federal government", supported by 250 initial signatories from politics, culture and business and to date with more than 338,000 signatures. They also welcomed the draft law.
The issue of digital sexualized violence is huge and omnipresent. In the past few years alone, there have been other high-profile cases in addition to those already mentioned. In the current debate about the misuse of smart glasses, SPIEGEL reported on the case of a Hamburg woman who was secretly filmed in a bikini and defended herself. And most recently, upskirting videos from the “Devil’s Wheel” made headlines at the Munich Oktoberfest. A team of researchers says they discovered more than 32,000 videos of dirndls riding up on the “Devil’s Wheel” on Instagram, Facebook and other Meta services.
