Campaigner Gina Martin started an online petition after police declined to prosecute a man she accused of taking a picture of her on his phone at a music festival as she had been wearing underwear and the photo was therefore not considered illegal
Offenders will face up to two years in prison. Representation pic
Britain plans to ban "upskirting" — secretly taking pictures up women's skirts — under a new law being debated in parliament yesterday that would impose prison sentences of up to two years. "This behaviour is a hideous invasion of privacy which leaves victims feeling degraded and distressed," junior justice minister Lucy Frazer said, giving the government's backing to the draft law put forward by opposition lawmaker Wera Hobhouse.
People convicted of "upskirting" would be placed on the sex offender register once the law is approved by parliament. Some instances of "upskirting" are currently prosecuted under existing public decency and voyeurism laws, but campaigners said not all instances were covered by existing criminal law.
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Campaigner Gina Martin started an online petition after police declined to prosecute a man she accused of taking a picture of her on his phone at a music festival as she had been wearing underwear and the photo was therefore not considered illegal. "This is obviously great news," Martin said.
"Now — hopefully — we can get access to justice for all victims because the politicians listened," she said. Katie Ghose, chief executive of Women's Aid, said: "We welcome the government taking decisive action to make upskirting a criminal offence. Lisa Hallgarten, head of policy for Brook, also welcomed the move, but said that "the law alone is not enough".
Tweet talk
Phillipa Ashley @PhillipaAshley:
Forgive me but how has #upskirting ever, ever, NOT been a criminal
Gillian Joseph @skygillian:
Upskirting, do you know what it is? Taking a photo under a person’s clothes without their consent. Could be criminalised with a 2 year jail term. Should it be?
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