What is upskirting? Act is now a criminal offence
Upskirting is now a criminal offence in England and Wales.
The new law passed its final stage in the House of Lords yesterday, and is now awaiting formal Royal Assent.
The breakthrough comes 18 months after writer Gina Martin, 26, launched a campaign to legislate against the act, after she learnt it was not technically considered a sexual crime.
Gina â who was herself a victim of upskirting while at a music festival in 2017 â has celebrated the victory on Twitter, calling it âlife-changingâ.
I couldnât have done this without my laywer and friend @ryantwhelan (@gibsondunn) the support of @hollywills, @Schofe @lucyfrazermp and @RossThomson_MP. 💥🥳 pic.twitter.com/jsLjuKfP6b
â Gina Martin (@ginamartin_uk) January 15, 2019
What is upskirting?
If you donât know what a âcreepshotâ or âupskirtingâ is, youâre probably better off never finding out.
Essentially, they are photographs of women in public spaces taken by men and sometimes uploaded online without the former knowing or giving consent.
These can span from taking photos of womenâs fully-clothed legs from a distance or in the case of âupskirtingâ, taking up-skirt shots of womenâs crotches.
Taking a photo like that not only erodes a womanâs privacy, her comfort in public spaces and flat-out disgusts her, but the worst thing about creepshots is that theyâre rarely taken with the sole intention of going home and having a lonely masturbate over them.
The kick that creepshotters get is from sharing them with fellow men.
Online communities and Twitter accounts sharing these photos, such as Redditâs notorious r/Creepshots, have been around for years and when banned or deleted often appear again under another name.
Itâs easy to assume that people are getting away with it because on sites such as Reddit and Twitter, you can stay anonymous, and otherwise the law would quickly catch up with them â right?
If only.
While at a festival, digital writer Gina Martin had a man take a photograph up her skirt, only realising what had happened when she spotted him sharing the photograph of her crotch with his friends.
But after alerting the authorities, she was stunned to discover that, at the time, taking a photograph up a womanâs skirt wasnât technically a sexual offence.
As an alternative option, one would assume it would easily fall under voyeurism, for example. But it slips through the net as that must involve someone observing or recording a âprivate actâ.
A post shared by G I N A M A R T I N (@ginamartinuk) on Jul 9, 2017 at 10:47am PDT
You could consider it to be âoutraging public decencyâ too, but that also comes with a list of problems.
Days later, Martinâs case with the police was closed. But after campaigning for her case to be re-opened (a successful petition which reached more than 55,000 signatures), Martin is now hoping to see the men prosecuted and the law amended so that taking up-skirt photos is considered a sexual offence.
âIâm currently drafting a letter to MPs that have expressed interest in womenâs issues in the past,â says Martin.
âIâm desperate to get MPs to support me and to push for the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to be amended to specifically list upskirting as a sexual offence.
A post shared by G I N A M A R T I N (@ginamartinuk) on Aug 8, 2017 at 12:36pm PDT
âThe law that victims can currently prosecute under is an old common law that states something lewd or indecent has happened (and been seen) in public.
âSo effectively right now, up skirting is treated as a public nuisance much like urinating in public, flashing, or having sex in public.
âItâs NOT technically listed as a victim crime. This isnât good enough.â
Weâre not the only country not to legislate against it in this way â in Australia there arenât any specific laws stopping someone taking your photo or video in a public place or posting it online.
And US states such as Texas and Oregon have a similar stance, even when it happened to a 13-year-old girl.
Apparently taking 'up-skirt' photos without consent is *not* an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 ('SOA') 🤔 [thread] [1]
â Natasha Holcroft-Emmess (@NHEwrites) July 24, 2017
Though others are beginning to wise up.
When one creepshot Twitter account with 17,000 followers was shut down in Calgary, Canada, a Sargent classfied it as âvoyeurism activityâ which is a punishable offence under the Criminal Code of Canada.
While in Massachusetts, US, taking upskirt shots specifically has been a crime for years.
Martin believes that writing clearer laws will lead to clearer sentencing â meaning there will be more obvious repercussions for offenders and therefore fewer cases.
âI also think it will alert the public â upskirting is such a secretive act and the public arenât on the look out for it,â she says.
âI think amending this law will help it happen less as perpetrators will know that itâs on the publicâs radar.
âYou have to think: if law clearly states itâs a sexual offence, men like the men who targeted me are less likely to take the chance.â
A post shared by G I N A M A R T I N (@ginamartinuk) on May 22, 2017 at 1:11pm PDT
She also points out that people probably assume itâs already a sexual offence because âsurely, logically, it isâ:
âBut unfortunately the law doesnât reflect that.
âI am bored of women bodies being public property, and I am imploring people to sign the petition.
âIf there are any MPs reading this who believe in this campaign please reach out to me, I need your help!
âThis is not about my case, itâs about all women, and protecting little girls who are running around today.
âI really hope we can change something here. It just makes sense.â
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