Whitmore: I didn’t realise the extent of upskirting
LAURA WHITMORE has said she backed the campaign to criminalise upskirting after finding out how widespread the voyeuristic act is.
The new law follows a campaign by upskirting victim Gina Martin, who spoke to the Standard this week.
The presenter, 33, said Ms Martin had explained the extent of the practice, in which photographs are secretly taken beneath someone’s clothing. “To be honest I was a bit blindsided,” Whitmore said. “I didn’t realise that schoolgirls were having pictures taken on the bus or people like Gina at festivals. It is mad that it happens. Obscene.” Legislation that would make upskirting a criminal offence, with a maximum prison sentence of two years, was introduced by the Commons yesterday. Earlier this week Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope scuppered the progress of a private member’s bill creating a new offence, claiming that it needed more scrutiny.
The presenter, who is best known for ITV spin-off show I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here — Now!, said she was careful when getting out of cars in front of paparazzi in case they took photographs up her dress. She added: “Something needs to be done and we need to address it. It is not OK. I hope that we will look back on 2018 and say that is the year when change really started to happen.”
Whitmore, who is from Bray in Ireland and now lives Camden, is working with LinkedIn, which has found that workers rely on four key people to get ahead in the office: the cheerleader, the best friend, the rival, and the work husband or wife. Whitmore said she was a workplace cheerleader.