"Upskirting bill" to become law

Five bills received royal assent today and will become law.

In particular The Voyeurism (Offences) (No.2) Bill, known colloquially as the Upskirting Bill, received Royal Assent today (12 February 2019). It becomes the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 and will come into force on 12 April 2019.

What is the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019?

The act adds two new offences to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to cover the practice known colloquially as ‘upskirting’.

The new offences apply in instances when:
  • Without consent, an individual operates equipment or records an image beneath a person's clothing to observe their genitalia or buttocks, whether covered or uncovered by underwear garments 
  • The offender has a motive of either obtaining sexual gratification or causing humiliation, distress or alarm to the victim. 
  • The Act also ensures that the most serious offenders, where the purpose of the offence is for sexual gratification, are made subject to notification requirements (often referred to as being placed on the ‘sex offenders register’).
So what has happened today is that the last Private members bill which was initially blocked by Sir Christopher Chope despite enjoying overwhelming cross-party support was effectively taken over by the government and taken through parliament using government time.

The Chief Whip has promised that the government is looking at ways to make sure that the FGM bill to which Christopher Chope similarly objected last Friday is brought forward and passed into law in a similar manner.

It is essential that this happens. FGM is a vile practice which needs to be stamped out and the FGM bill is a sensible measure which will help protect women and girls from being hurt by it.


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