Our laws have been adjusted accordingly.Īnd in recent years, lawmakers have been faced with the same potential for inappropriate use with mobile phones. The same thing happened with small (and now very affordable) drones, which made it possible to capture images of people in compromising positions, even from a distance. With this technology, it was now possible to record private conversations, so legislators had to create offences under the law to deal with any inappropriate use.

We saw that with the advent of small listening devices. With every new electronic device that comes on the market comes the possibility of inappropriate use and, thus, the creation of new criminal offences. The broader category of “upskirting” can also include indecent filming of anyone without their knowledge, including photographing topless female bathers at a public beach, covertly filming women undressing in their bedrooms, or installing a camera in a dressing room, public toilet or a swimming pool changing room.Īndrew Laming: why empathy training is unlikely to work Other instances have involved placing cameras under stairs where women in dresses or skirts were likely to pass by. There have been incidents in which people (invariably men) have placed cameras on their shoes and photographed “up” a woman’s skirt for prurient purposes. The act of upskirting is generally defined as taking a sexually intrusive photograph of someone without their permission.

Mick Tsikas/AAP What can ‘upskirting’ include?Ī new term has entered the lexicon in this regard: “upskirting”. Andrew Laming has said he will not stand at the next election, but he will also not step down before then.

Photo privacy a crime