A teaching union has warned that upskirting – the act of taking a photo up someone’s skirt without permission – is worsening in schools, the BBC reports.
The problem was highlighted during NASUWT Cymru’s recent conference in Wrexham, and comes in the wake of new government proposals to make upskirting illegal.
Union member, Sion Amlyn, said NASUWT was experiencing a rise in reports of upskirting. Speaking to BBC Wales’ Cymru Fyw, he said: “Quite disturbingly there’s an increase in the practise of upskirting or downblousing by pupils on teachers and that has a detrimental [effect] on the wellbeing of our members.
“They suffer from depression, they don’t want to go back to work again and in our mind, more needs to be done to tackle this kind of practice.”
Amlyn acknowledged that schools have implemented certain mechanisms to tackle the problem, but said they aren’t efficient enough.
Sex Offenders’ Register for offenders
As another BBC article points out, the legislation making upskirting a criminal offence means that the worst offenders could face up to two years in prison, and have their name put on the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Prime minister Theresa May hailed upskirting a “hideous invasion of privacy which leaves victims feeling degraded and distressed.”
Justice minister Lucy Frazer commented: “We will ensure this bill becomes law as soon as possible to protect more victims and properly punish offenders.”
Scotland introduced laws covering upskirting back in 2010. In England and Wales, those prosecuting against incidents of upskirting can use offences of harassment, voyeurism and outraging public decency – yet, not every case can currently be covered by one of these charges.
In our opinion, the sooner this bill is passed, the better. Does your school currently have measures in place to protect teachers? If so, are they effective?
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-44589347
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44557441
