Voyeurism Act making "upskirting" illegal is now in effect.

From this week the Voyeurism Act has come into force in England and Wales  and ‘upskirting’ offenders can be arrested and sent to prison, ensuring more people are protected from this degrading and humiliating behaviour.

Key facts: 
  • Upskirting is a gross invasion of privacy, but previously not all instances were covered by criminal law. 
  • From Friday, offenders will feel the full force of the law with up to two years in jail. The most serious offenders will be placed on the sex offenders’ register. 
  • After a previous attempt to ban the practice through a private members' bill fell foul of a rogue MP, the government made parliamentary time available for the Voyeurism Act which received Royal Assent in February and is now law. 

Why this matters: 

There is no excuse for this disgusting behaviour, and making ‘upskirting’ an offence is another step forward in challenging sexist attitudes and behaviours in our society.

Comments

Jim said…
what on Earth is "upskirting"?
6:49 pm
Chris Whiteside said…
Do you really not know or is that a joke at Christopher Chope's expense?
2:00 am
Chris Whiteside said…
It has been defined as "The action or practice of surreptitiously taking photos or videos at an angle so as to see up a woman's skirt or dress."
2:02 am
Jim said…
no i really did not know. never heard of it. i also can see a lot of people being done for it out of turn.

You take a picture of the wife and kids at the sea side, before you know it some woman you never noticed who was sat in the back ground is haveing you arrested.

4:07 pm
Jim said…
personally its never bothered me when i have my photo taken in my frock. Im very modest so i always wear my undies.
4:09 pm
Jim said…
And yes that last one was a joke.......or was it?.......we just don't know :o)
6:00 pm
Chris Whiteside said…
To be convicted under the Voyeurism act, it has to be proved that the accused was "creating images of or operating equipment to view genitals, buttocks or underwear beneath clothing where they would not normally be visible, for the purpose of sexual gratification or to cause humiliation, alarm or distress."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyeurism_(Offences)_Act_2019

Given the two qualifications - that the area viewed "would not normally be visible" and is being viewed for the purposes defined in the act, it's not going to be possible to prove that against someone taking a photo of their wife and kids at the beach unless they have the most incompetent defence lawyer since the guy who defended Timothy Evans.
11:31 pm
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