What is upskirting, what’s the new law around it and why did it take so long to become illegal?

UPSKIRTING is a criminal offence from TODAY (April 12)..

But what exactly does it involve and what will happen to those caught doing it?

What is upskirting?

Upskirting is the act of taking a photograph of underneath a person’s skirt without their consent.

It is often performed in a public place such as on public transport or on an escalator, with crowds of people making it harder to spot people taking these photos.

A large proportion of women are targeted in places such as nightclubs, restaurants and shops.

Being victim to such an incident can cause emotional distress for a long time after it has happened.

What is the law around upskirting?

The long-awaited law against “upskirting” came into force on April 12, 2019, in England and Wales – it was already a criminal offence in Scotland.
If you catch somebody doing it the perpetrator can be arrested under the new offence, and face up to two years if convicted.

In extreme cases, upskirters can be put on the Sex Offenders Register.

In Scotland, upskirting has been an illegal offence since 2010 when it was listed under the definition of voyeurism.

Victims and police are only able to pursue offences of voyeurism and indecency, with a Freedom of Information request made by the Press Association revealing that the police have pursued 78 offences related to upskirting since 2015 – but only 11 led to alleged offenders being charged.

Avon and Somerset police have said that one incident involved a 10 year old girl in 2015, but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.

In July 2017, Gina Martin experienced a man taking an upskirt photo of her at British Summer Time music festival, and went straight to the police.

When they closed her case, she began a petition to get it reopened – and she gained over 70,000 signatures.

Gina led the campaign to change the law and said: “I’m so happy. Finally we have a fit-for-purpose law that protects against every instance of upskirting – as we should have always had.”

Why was the bill making it a criminal offence blocked?

A number of MPs pushed for upskirting to become a criminal offence in 2018 – however a bill criminalising the act was blocked in June 2018 by MP Sir Christopher Chope in the House of Commons.

Chope faced a furious backlash after he effectively killed off the proposed legislation.

Following the furore over his actions in the Commons, Sir Christopher has defended his actions and claimed he blocked the bill out of principle as a protest against the use of Private Members’ Bills to pass laws.

Speaking to the , the 71-year-old said: “I feel a bit sore about being scapegoated over this. The suggestion that I am some kind of pervert is a complete travesty of the truth.”

He added he wanted to see the law against upskirting added to the statute book and would fully support moves to criminalise it.