ANYONE caught sharing explicit images of people without their consent will face up to two years in prison from today as new laws targeting “revenge porn” come into force.

Victims and activists cheered the rules regarding the publishing of private sexual pictures or videos of others without permission and with the intent to cause distress.

The sex crime was put under the spotlight after intimate pictures of celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Kelly Brook were leaked online — giving the campaign for legislation cross-party backing.

Survivor and anti-revenge porn campaigner Hannah Thompson described the move as “a huge step forward.”

She said: “I was a victim of revenge porn, and I spent months agonising over it and believing that it was my fault.

“This new law, along with the advice helpline, empowers victims and clearly displays that they are not at fault.

“I hope all these changes provide victims with a route to justice and aid them in getting their images taken down.”

She added that there could now be a change to a culture in which “people could post sexual images without consent, and just get away with it.”

According to police forces in England and Wales there were 149 allegations of revenge porn crimes, mainly from women, in the two-and-a-half years to September last year — but only six resulted in cautions or charges.

End Violence Against Women prevention manager Dr Fiona Vera-Gray said the group was “pleased with the introduction of a specific law, but sees legislation as just one part of the action needed to stop revenge pornography.

“Prevention, beginning with age-appropriate sex and relationships education in schools, is key to begin changing the attitudes that support forms of sexual violence, as well as broader public awareness campaigns educating adults about the consequences of distributing someone else’s private images without consent.

“This work also needs to go hand-in-hand with funding for specialist provision for women and girls who have experienced any form of violence or harassment, including revenge pornography.”

Revenge porn laws came into effect today as part of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act, which will also see a maximum penalty of two years behing bars for abusive online “trolls.”