"No Offence, But...": How to have difficult conversations for meaningful change

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The Voyeurism Bill outlaws ‘upskirting’ where the purpose is to obtain sexual gratification, or to cause humiliation, distress or alarm. This includes instances where culprits say images were just taken ‘for a laugh’ or when paparazzi are caught taking intrusive images.

After 18 months of tireless work, today we’ve finally done it. As the Queen formally agrees to make our bill into an Act of Parliament, we should see this campaign as not only essential legislative change, but also proof that normal people and grassroots campaigning can make a real difference. It’s a reminder to, instead of saying ‘someone should do something about this’, be that someone. The British Transport Police has reported a 178% rise in the number of ‘upskirting’ incidents from 2013-2017.The new law captures instances where the purpose is to obtain sexual gratification or cause humiliation, distress or alarm. In 2021, the high-profile murder cases of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa prompted a national call to protect women.

Beyond Equality also provide teacher training to help teachers at the frontline in the fight against gender-based violence and misogyny. Today marks the culmination of tireless campaigning from Gina Martin and other victims, MPs and charities who worked closely with Ministers to create the new law and protect more victims. That’s why I host sessions on misogyny and the impact of it; why I’m training in facilitation so I can run workshops with young people on masculinities and gender; and why I speak in schools across the UK as well as raise funds for grassroots organisations. There may not be a big, sparkly win, but there will be consistent impact in the form of smaller wins. There may not be headlines about the boys who attended masculinity workshops and grew up respecting people of all genders more, or about the girls who felt seen and used their voices because of activists who created spaces for them, but I’d much rather move forward as that woman than “the upskirting girl”. Even though it’s much less catchy.By taking decisive action and working closely with Gina Martin and other campaigners, we have ensured more people are protected from this degrading and humiliating practice. I’ve known about them since 2017. I’ve followed their work because the way that they do the work is the way we solve the problem or start to solve it. They engage men and boys on gender, equality and feminism,” she said.