Newsletter Newsletters Events Events Podcasts Videos Africanews
Loader
Advertisement

Activists in Germany call for 'upskirting' to be made illegal

Campaigner, Hannah Seidel, wants 'upskirting' to be made a crime in Germany
Campaigner, Hannah Seidel, wants 'upskirting' to be made a crime in Germany
Copyright 
By Angela Barnes
Published on Updated
Share this article Comments
Share this article Close Button
Copy/paste the article video embed link below: Copy to clipboard Copied

'Upskirting' is not illegal in Germany and campaigners there want that to change and for it to become a criminal offence, like in the UK.

Filming up someone's clothing without their permission, known as "upskirting", has recently been made illegal across the UK but other European countries are yet to ban it.

It became a criminal offence in Britain in February following writer Gina Martin's campaign for it after she had been upskirted at a music festival.

Perpetrators who film under a person’s clothing without their consent face up to two years in prison.

In Spain, it is categorised as sexual abuse and also punishable with prison.

On Wednesday, a man was arrested in Madrid, accused of recording intimate videos of more than 500 women without their consent before putting the footage up on porn websites.

Hannah Seidel has been leading a campaign to get it criminalised in Germany too, after being inspired by Gina Martin to act.

"The problem is we are still a bit conservative with some rules we have talked to some politicians about and they always say developments move on so fast and they could not catch up but I don't really believe that.

"We have installed an email address for victims of upskirting so they can contact us and many of them did and so I think it is a broader issue than we think and because it is not illegal yet we can't say how many victims there really are because there are no criminal statistics to it yet," she added.

Watch a full interview in the video player with anti-upskirting campaigner Hannah Seidel

Want more news?

Go to accessibility shortcuts
Share this article Comments

Read more

German fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh dies, aged 74

Protesters leave knicker-bunting outside door of MP who blocked upskirting bill

May backs 'upskirting' law after lone MP blocks bill