"No Offence, But...": How to have difficult conversations for meaningful change

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The Voyeurism Bill outlaws ‘upskirting’ where the purpose is to obtain sexual gratification, or to cause humiliation, distress or alarm. This includes instances where culprits say images were just taken ‘for a laugh’ or when paparazzi are caught taking intrusive images. 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 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.

As of today (12 April 2019) ‘upskirting’ offenders can be arrested and sent to prison as a new law banning the invasive practice comes into force across England and Wales. Gina Martin, the gender equality campaigner, speaker and writer, joins us on the publication day of her new book, No Offence, But … The Voyeurism Act outlaws ‘upskirting’ where the purpose is to obtain sexual gratification, or to cause humiliation, distress or alarm. This includes instances where culprits say images were just taken ‘for a laugh’ or when paparazzi are caught taking intrusive images. FInd out more about what this new law means: read ‘Upskirting’ now a specific crime as bill receives Royal Assent.

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. 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. The new law captures instances where the purpose is to obtain sexual gratification or cause humiliation, distress or alarm. 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. After 18 months of tireless work, today we’ve finally done it. As the Queen formally agrees to make our bill into an Act of Parliament, we should see this campaign as not only essential legislative change, but also proof that normal people and grassroots campaigning can make a real difference. It’s a reminder to, instead of saying ‘someone should do something about this’, be that someone.

To date, the behaviour has been successfully prosecuted under the offence of Outraging Public Decency. We have always been clear – there are no excuses for this behaviour and offenders should feel the full force of the law. From today, they will. Beyond Equality also provide teacher training to help teachers at the frontline in the fight against gender-based violence and misogyny.

What does the law mean?

In our increasingly polarised society, having productive discussions about social justice issues has never been more challenging, or more crucial. From the persistent ('not all men,' 'I don't see colour') to the insidious ('to play devil's advocate...', 'climate change is coming'), too often, antagonistic or problematic responses threaten to distract and derail our most urgent conversations. The latest statistics from ONS have shown 177 women were murdered in England and Wales between April 2020 to March 2021.