Upskirting is officially becoming illegal thanks to 26-year-old Gina Martin
18 months ago, 26-year-old Gina Martin was at a festival in central London with her sister when she became horrified to realise a man standing behind her had taken a photograph up her skirt. Following a viral social media post and then some intense campaigning from Gina, the House of Lords yesterday approved legislation which officially makes that act a criminal offence.
A post shared by G I N A M A R T I N (@ginamartinuk) on Jul 18, 2017 at 5:57am PDT
What triggered the campaign was not so much the upskirting itself, but the shock Gina felt when realising that police were unable to do anything about it. The picture - which Gina described in an article for the BBC as "my crotch covered by a thin strip of underwear" - wasn't deemed "graphic" enough, so there was little the officers could do.
Now all that stands between Gina and the upskirting bill officially becoming law is the Royal Assent - an official sign off from the Queen which will happen very soon.
"This has been a colossal undertaking for me personally and professionally, and I absolutely couldn’t have done it without [my lawyer] Ryan and the incredible public behind me," Gina said in a statement in June last year when the Government announced it was officially backing the bill to make upskirting a sexual offence.
"When I launched this campaign everyone except my lawyer, Ryan and my family and friends said that the Government wouldn’t back this. They said I couldn’t do that. Well, today, they officially backed it," she wrote on Instagram at the time.
A post shared by G I N A M A R T I N (@ginamartinuk) on Jun 15, 2018 at 12:26am PDT
The bill didn't immediately get off to a smooth start, however. While it was supported by MPs from every party, on its second reading Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope made an attempt to block it, shouting "object" while it was being discussed in Parliament.
Gina said afterwards that she was "extremely upset and disappointed" by the delay in proceedings, however she remained positive and hopeful the bill would eventually pass - and following yesterday's approval from the House of Lords, it did.
Previously, taking photographs of a person’s private areas underneath their clothing without them knowing had only been successfully prosecuted under the offence of Outraging Public Decency. However, after Gina raised the point that not all instances of upskirting were covered by this existing law, ministers introduced a new, specific offence which brings the punishment in line with other existing voyeurism offences.
The change in the law also means the most serious offenders of upskirting will now also be placed on the sex offenders register.
A post shared by G I N A M A R T I N (@ginamartinuk) on Jun 12, 2018 at 4:05pm PDT
Justice Minister Lucy Frazer said of the new offence: "This behaviour is a hideous invasion of privacy which leaves victims feeling degraded and distressed.
"By making ‘upskirting’ a specific offence, we are sending a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated, and that perpetrators will be properly punished."
Katie Ghose, Chief Executive of Women's Aid, was also pleased to hear of the development in the law. "We welcome the government taking decisive action to make upskirting a criminal offence. This form of abuse is painful and humiliating for victims and often has a devastating impact on all aspects of their lives," she said.
"We hope that this new criminal offence will be another step forward in challenging the prevailing sexist attitudes and behaviours in our society that underpin violence against women and girls."
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