Artículo 'Horrific crime': UK campaigners call for 'upskirting' to be a criminal offence News

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'Horrific crime': UK campaigners call for 'upskirting' to be a criminal offence

Secretly photographing under the skirts of women or girls is not recognised as a specific offence in England and Wales

Anna Freeman

20 Febrero 2018 13:35

Campaigners have called on the UK government to criminalise ‘upskirting’ as a sexual offence after police data showed one victim was aged 10.

Upskirting refers to the practice of secretly photographing under the skirts of women or girls and is not recognised as a specific offence in England and Wales.

According to data, since 2015 there have been just 11 charges related to upskirting, a Freedom of Information request filed by the Press Association showed. But only 15 out of 44 police forces contacted held records.

As it stands, police charge alleged ‘upskirters’ with other offences, and victims can only pursue incidents as acts of voyeurism or indecency.

In Scotland, however, upskirting has been an offence since 2010 when it was listed under the definition of voyeurism, but no such law translated to the rest of the UK.

MP Maria Miller, who chairs the women and equalities select committee, said more must be done to stop this ‘horrific crime’. ‘Attempting to take a photograph underneath a skirt is a gross violation of privacy and potentially an act of indecency,’ she said.

Upskirting can take place in a number of public spaces and settings, including nightclubs, shops and restaurants - with young women being disproportionately targeted.

women sexual abuse voyeurism crime great britain upskirting

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