Revenge porn is a criminal betrayal deserving criminal legislation, Scotland’s top lawyer has said in a move backing feminist campaigners.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland voiced support for new laws targeting the distribution of sexual images without the subject’s consent — typically men seeking to humiliate their partner following a fight or break-up.

Campaigners with Scottish Women’s Aid and Rape Crisis Scotland have warned that such videos or photographs are increasingly being used to harass and intimidate women.

Under current law it is illegal to publish indecent images of minors, but no specific law covers uploading sexual images of an adult without their permission.

The Scottish government’s chief legal officer said his office had been able to convict the culprits in five such cases in Scotland, invoking everything from anti-stalking laws to the Malicious Communications Act.

“However, it is a growing problem and specific legislation would send a signal to those who do this that they face jail.

“I believe there is significant under-reporting of this issue, possibly because those affected are too embarrassed to come forward or fear they will be blamed.”

Rape Crisis Scotland’s Sandy Brindley welcomed the remarks, saying the law needed “clear sanctions” for such acts.

Revenge porn was often perpetrated in connection with domestic abuse or sexual violence, she added.

The move follows a landmark push by SNP ministers and women’s organisations to scrap Scotland’s corroboration laws, which require at least two witnesses or pieces of evidence to bring a prosecution.

A Crown Office spokesperson yesterday reaffirmed the department’s support for scrapping corroboration but declined to comment on whether the move would aid prosecutions in cases of revenge porn.