Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019

The Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 (c. 2) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amends the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to make upskirting a specific offence of voyeurism. The Act came into force on 12 April 2019.

Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to make certain acts of voyeurism an offence, and for connected purposes.
Citation2019 c. 2
Introduced byDavid Gauke (Commons)
Richard Keen, Baron Keen of Elie (Lords)
Territorial extentEngland and Wales
Dates
Royal assent12 February 2019
Commencement12 April 2019
Other legislation
AmendsSexual Offences Act 2003
Children and Young Persons Act 1933
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Modern Slavery Act 2015
Status: Current legislation
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted

Provisions

For the purposes of the Act, the relevant offence is committed by 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. The maximum sentence for the offence is two years' imprisonment and in the more serious sexual cases those convicted are added to the Violent and Sex Offender Register.[1][2][3]

Background

Before 2019, there was no specific law against upskirting in England and Wales.[4] When upskirting took place in public, it was outside the scope of the offence of voyeurism under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.[5] Nevertheless, prosecutions for upskirting were occasionally brought alleging the common law offence of outraging public decency, which requires the presence of at least two other people and for the act to be done in a public place.[6]

In August 2017, Gina Martin, who was upskirted at a music festival, began a campaign to reopen her case after the police closed it; Martin's case ignited a public debate over the legality of upskirting in England and Wales.[7] The Labour Party backed her petition, which attracted over 58,000 signatures, to make the practice of upskirting illegal under the Sexual Offences Act.[8] A freedom of information request revealed that between 2015 and 2017 there were 11 charges related to upskirting in England and Wales, but that only 15 out of 44 police forces held specific relevant records.[9]

The campaign to make upskirting a specific crime in England and Wales was supported by Conservative MP Maria Miller, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, the End Violence Against Women Coalition, and Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London,[10] and by others.

Private Member's Bill

On 6 March 2018, Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse presented a Private Member's Bill to the House of Commons in support of Martin's national campaign.[11][12] Justice Secretary David Gauke signalled that the government would support Hobhouse's bill,[13] which was later supported by the Prime Minister, Theresa May.[14] The bill was not debated at its presentation.[11]

At its second reading in the Commons on 15 June 2018, Conservative MP Christopher Chope objected to Hobhouse's bill, preventing its passage through the Commons.[15] Chope said that his reason for blocking the bill's passage was in objection to parliamentary procedure rather than to the bill itself: he stated that he would "wholeheartedly" support a government bill that outlawed upskirting.[16] Chope's actions drew immediate criticism from fellow MPs, including some in his own party.[17][18] May also expressed her disappointment at the objection.[17] In protest at his actions, staff at the House of Commons placed a bunting of women's underwear outside Chope's office entrance. A similar bunting was also placed outside his constituency office.[19] Protestors also confronted Chope at his constituency surgery.[20]

Clare McGlynn, a law professor at Durham University, said that by being returned to the House of Commons for debate, Hobhouse's bill could now be amended and "future-proofed" to include penalties for creators of deepfake pornographic images. McGlynn said that the bill as drafted had "placed too high a burden of proof on prosecutors because they had to show that a picture was taken for the purposes of sexual gratification or to cause distress" when "the unfortunate reality is that these things are often done 'for a laugh'. It's not clear to me that the current proposed legislation will cover these situations."[21] The bill which ultimately passed applies to upskirting for the purposes of "humiliating, alarming or distressing" the victim, but does not contain any provisions against deepfakes.

Government Bill

Following Chope's objection, the government reaffirmed its commitment to introduce legislation to outlaw upskirting.[22] A government bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 21 June 2018.[23][24] Speaking on the government's behalf in the House of Lords, Baroness Vere of Norbiton said that the legislation would also protect men wearing kilts.[25][26]

The Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 received royal assent on 12 February 2019, taking effect two months later on 12 April.[27]

References
  1. Ministry of Justice; Frazer, Lucy (12 February 2019). "'Upskirting' now a specific crime as bill receives Royal Assent". gov.uk (Press release). Government Digital Service. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  2. "Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2019 c. 2
  3. Jane Wharton (15 January 2019). "Upskirting is finally going to be made a criminal offence". Metro News.
  4. Secret barrister (30 August 2017). "Upskirting: Why a new law is needed to stop mobile phones being shoved up women's skirts". i News. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  5. Conner, Paul (2016). Blackstone's Police Manual 2017 Volume 1: Crime. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198783053.
  6. Miller, Harry (7 March 2011). "Croydon man convicted of taking pictures up women's skirts". Croydon Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  7. "Upskirting – how one victim is fighting back". BBC News. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  8. Staff writer (11 August 2017). "Make 'upskirt' photography a sexual offence - Labour". BBC News. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  9. Staff writer (20 February 2018). "'Upskirting' should be criminal offence, campaigners say". BBC News. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  10. "Mayor's record £44m commitment to make London safe for women and girls". London City Hall. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  11. "Voyeurism (Offences) Bill" (PDF). House of Commons. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  12. "Liberal Democrat MP tables new law to make 'upskirting' a criminal offence". The Independent. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  13. "New law could be made against upskirting in the UK". The Telegraph. 24 April 2018. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  14. "Prime Minister backs Wera Hobhouse MP's calls to make upskirting an offence". Liberal Democrats - Wera Hobhouse MP. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  15. "New upskirting law blocked by Tory MP". BBC News. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  16. Martin, Andy (17 June 2018). "Christopher Chope exclusive: I DO support upskirting ban. I've been scapegoated". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  17. Allegretti, Aubrey (16 June 2018). "Theresa May 'disappointed' as Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope blocks upskirting bill". Sky News. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  18. "Revealed: Conservative MPs turn on Christopher Chope on Tory WhatsApp". The Spectator Coffee House. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  19. "'Pants protest' against Commons row MP". BBC News. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  20. Lewis, Jason (22 June 2018). "WATCH: Protestors confront Sir Christopher Chope in Christchurch over 'upskirting' bill". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  21. Sabbagh, Dan; Ankel, Sophia (21 June 2018). "Call for upskirting bill to include 'deepfake' pornography ban". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  22. Crerar, Pippa (18 June 2018). "Upskirting: government confirms plan to introduce ban". the Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  23. Bradley, Sorcha (21 June 2018). "Campaigners celebrate as government tables bill to tackle upskirting". Sky News. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  24. "Voyeurism (Offences) (No. 2) Bill" (PDF). publications.parliament.uk. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  25. "Upskirting ban 'also protects men in kilts'". BBC News. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  26. "Upskirting - Hansard Online". hansard.parliament.uk. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  27. "Upskirting now a crime after woman's campaign". BBC News. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
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