Germany sets bill against upskirting on the way

Offenders take pictures or film with selfie sticks and smartphones on stairs or in crowds often unnoticed under skirts and clothes passing by. So far, they usually commit no offense. The federal government is now changing that by law. The Federal Cabinet has this Wednesday passed a bill against so-called upskirting: Secret photography under skirts should be punished in the future. The same applies to unwanted photography in the décolleté.

Upskirting was "humiliating and hurtful," said Federal Minister of Justice Christine Lambrecht (SPD) the proposed law against the "New Osnabrücker Zeitung". The photos would be shared in chat groups and even distributed commercially. "It hurts women when they are demoted to objects," said Lambrecht. Countless sufferers would have turned to her.

So far, such photographing is usually considered a misdemeanor and will only be punished as a criminal offense, if the offender touches the victim or additionally offended and humiliated. In any case, however, affected persons can now demand the immediate cancellation, compensation and possibly a monetary compensation.

Public pressure through petition

Ida Marie Sassenberg and Hanna Seidel had with their petition "Prohibits #Upskirting in Germany!" In recent months, the problem has been brought to the attention of more than 100,000 votes.

For their push they received not only support, but also hate comments. "Some say that the whole thing is just a marginal phenomenon that almost no one happens - we should take care of more important," said Sassenberg in an interview with the SPIEGEL. "Others say that it's your own fault to put on a coat, and some even argue that it would be good if 'perverts' look at pictures on their phones at home rather than going out and doing worse. "

An affected woman has to turn now because of the loophole to her harasser and hope that he complies with their request to delete the images or videos, the initiators justified their initiative - provided that the woman has even heard the attack. "Only when the offender refuses, a complicated civil procedure can be sought," the criticism. "However, the missing offense leads to the fact that the affected woman in such a case can not even call the police."

The bill against upskirting adopted this Wednesday has yet to be passed by the Bundestag before it enters into force. "When men photograph women under the skirt or in the neckline, they intervene in the intimate area of ​​women and we will not take that any longer," says the spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Johannes Fechner, SPIEGEL. "That's why we want to pass this bill quickly in the Bundestag, because we want to protect women from such interference in the privacy of criminal law."

At the beginning of the year in the United Kingdom, parliament introduced a law against upskirting - a campaign by a young British woman had also created public pressure there. Anyone photographing women under the skirt in Britain has to face up to two years in prison.