The Croatian government proposed amendments on Thursday to the country's criminal code to make "revenge pornography" a criminal act, a move hailed by the women's rights group which initiated the move.

Sharing online sexually explicit images made with consent and for private use, by a former partner without their ex's approval will be punishable with up to three years in jail, according to the amendments that need to be adopted by lawmakers.

So-called deepfake porn, in which technology is used to fake or manipulate images, will be included in the same category, the government decided at a session.

The move was hailed by the B.a.B.e. women's rights group which initiated it and launched an online petition 'Stop revenge pornography' signed by nearly 10,000 people in just over a month.

The association in April opened an advisory centre for women facing online attacks and has so far received 12 reports on revenge porn, its coordinator Dean Sarcevic said.

"This is only a tip of an iceberg," he told AFP, adding that the group had also received dozens of anonymous reports of revenge porn.

Earlier this month the European Union member country launched a campaign to stop domestic violence against women, as it saw a 30% surge in the number of cases in 2020 compared with the previous year.