The government is considering outlawing the sexually intrusive practice of “upskirting”, the justice secretary has told MPs. David Lidington’s comments are the first indication that ministers are examining the need for legislation to ban people secretly photographing underneath a person’s clothing without their consent in England and Wales. Taking such surreptitious pictures – often on crowded buses or trains – has been widely condemned as sexual harassment. One woman, Gina Martin, has started an online campaign for the practice to be criminalised after police declined to prosecute a man whom she accused of snapping pictures of her on his phone at a music festival in Hyde Park in London this summer. Asked by Richard Burgon, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, whether he would support Martin’s campaign, Lidington said: “I have taken very seriously the representations made by Gina Martin and from some of the police and crime commissioners. “I have asked for detailed advice on this. Before proceeding to a commitment to new legislation, I want to be absolutely certain that this would be the right course to take.” Martin has called for section 67 of the Sexual Offences Act to be amended to specify that upskirt photos, or “creepshots” as… Read full this story
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