You see, what I need in a society where the threat of danger is ongoing is not the same as the society I want. I can’t opt out of this reality, but I can see where we could be and I want to be part of helping us get there. I don’t want more prisons and punishment. I want more prevention. A small number of men convicted of upskirting have been sentenced to prison under my law (and a significant number of them were also convicted of other sexual offences; one was found to have 250,000 indecent images of children). While I am thankful that children will be safer because of his conviction, my work now also asks, “How do we prevent this before we need to criminalise it?” It creates 2 new offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The changes will cover England and Wales; ‘upskirting’ is already a specific offence in Scotland. Notes to editors A report from UN Women UK has shown that 71 per cent of women of all ages have experienced some form of sexual harassment in a public space.

Upskirting is a harmful and humiliating form of abuse and often has a devastating impact on all aspects of the victim’s life. We have long been calling, along with the campaigner Gina Martin and a cross-party of MPs, for upskirting to be recognised as a sexual offence. The Ministry of Justice has listened to campaigners’ calls for action on this issue and taken decisive action. Following the bill gaining Royal Assent this week, upskirting is now a criminal offence. But this is just the beginning. Please raise your voice and report if you are a victim or if you see someone become one - every report builds a picture so we can stop upskirting. The latest statistics from ONS have shown 177 women were murdered in England and Wales between April 2020 to March 2021. Beyond Equality is an organisation that educates men to preventing gender-based violence, conducting workshops in schools and universities. Those who commit such a degrading act will face prison, and victims’ complaints will be dealt with seriously.

What does the law mean?

Beyond Equality also provide teacher training to help teachers at the frontline in the fight against gender-based violence and misogyny. Currently the behaviour is successfully prosecuted under the offence of Outraging Public Decency. However, following concerns raised by victims that not all instances of ‘upskirting’ were covered by current law, the government acted to create a new, specific offence. In 2021, the high-profile murder cases of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa prompted a national call to protect women. A summary conviction will carry a sentence of up to 1 year in prison and/or a fine. And a more serious offence, tried in the Crown Court, would carry a sentence of up to 2 years in prison.

In my work as a gender equality activist, the question I most get asked is, "how do you respond to...?", followed by one of those phrases that leave us feeling frustrated or tongue-tied. In this book, you'll find an empowering roadmap for changing the conversation on social justice issues.' However, following concerns raised by victims that not all instances of ‘upskirting’ were covered by current law, the government acted to create a new, specific offence. It would capture instances where the purpose is to obtain sexual gratification or cause humiliation, distress or alarm.

The move follows tireless efforts by campaigners, victims, charities, ministers and MPs to close a small gap in the law. The issue was first brought to the public’s attention by the unwavering campaign of Gina Martin, after two men took a picture up her skirt at a festival. Girls are just effervescent they’re like, yes! They don’t have an option to talk about sexual harassment, sexism and gender double standards. They don’t feel necessarily comfortable doing it with the teachers because they feel like they’ll get in trouble.” We started a good conversation through the campaign,” Martin said. “Now when I go on Google, I point out upskirting; it’s all about what is upskirting? Why is it happening? It’s all about misogyny and sexism. No longer is it about porn, which I’m proud of.” Today, the Voyeurism Act comes into effect and 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.

In 2017, I believed the best way to prevent upskirting was by criminalising it; it was the biggest I could think and would lead to the most impactful change. The institutional script teaches us that prosecuting people for the harm they cause will solve the problem. I was also driven by the experience of being a victim of stalking who had spent years feeling terrified by a man that the state didn’t deal with, so to me, changing the law was about making victims and survivors feel safer by giving them something to use. I didn’t ask if the men who commit this act – because it is overwhelmingly men – would be changed by the process. I didn’t think of them much at all. That’s why I host sessions on misogyny and the impact of it; why I’m training in facilitation so I can run workshops with young people on masculinities and gender; and why I speak in schools across the UK as well as raise funds for grassroots organisations. There may not be a big, sparkly win, but there will be consistent impact in the form of smaller wins. There may not be headlines about the boys who attended masculinity workshops and grew up respecting people of all genders more, or about the girls who felt seen and used their voices because of activists who created spaces for them, but I’d much rather move forward as that woman than “the upskirting girl”. Even though it’s much less catchy. In 2017, Gina and her sister attended British Summertime, a family-friendly daytime festival in London. At 5pm, in a crowd of over 60,000 people, they were standing next to a group of men who were overstepping the mark when interacting with Gina and her sister, including making jokes that then turned into more vulgar and sexual comments. To Gina’s horror, she then caught a glimpse of one of the group's phones and on it was a picture of her crotch.

Select a format:

Gina Martin is a gender equality campaigner, speaker and writer whose work focuses on gender, misogyny and sexual violence. Her book, No Offence, But … is published on 27 July The criminal offence of ‘upskirting’ was created under the Voyeurism Act when it received Royal Assent in February. Police and prosecutors have now updated their guidance to ensure the law is properly enforced – with offenders facing up to 2 years in jail and being placed on the sex offenders register. Our specially selected guests include CEO’s, founders, charity leaders, business leaders, activists, campaigners and more. From Beirut to Canada, we have sought out engaging speakers and fascinating stories with a universal relevance for those of us with a thirst for doing things differently. More + Project