Upskirting becomes a criminal offence

Upskirting – the practice of covertly putting a camera underneath someone’s clothes, to take a picture of their crotch or buttocks – will be a criminal offence from mid-April 2019.

Whilst this is a modern phenomenon, dependent on the advent of camera phones on sticks (I guess), this particular sexual fetish has a long (and well-illustrated) history. For over 250 years artists have offered images of women in their underwear, though presumably with the consent of the models!

Now, however, the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 provides for a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment for such activities.

Note also that it covers the taking of pictures not only for sexual gratification, but also if done for “humiliating, alarming or distressing” the victim of the illicit photograph.