Upskirting legislation concerns in Scotland

What is upskirting?

Inappropriate and uncompromising pictures covertly taken of women, along with so called “downblousing” where images are snapped from above.

The situation in Scotland

The law was changed in Scotland eight years ago to make this a specific offence.

How common is the problem?

Official figures suggest there are only a handful of cases a year, but this seems at odds with the growing prevalence of mobile phones and rise of social media - and warnings from teaching leaders that it is on the rise

The plans for England

MPS are poised to introduce similar laws south of the Border which will largely mirror the Scottish legislation

The loopholes

Legal experts working on legislation south of the Border have identified what they see as shortfalls in the law which means it may not cover cases where images are shared for “group bonding” purposes of sold for financial gain.

What the Scottish Government says

The law north of the Border does not oblige prosecutors to show that sharing such images intended to cause the victim any alarm or distress. An offence has been committed if the prosecution can show “recklessness” as to whether the behaviour would have that effect.