Upskirting or upskirt photography is the practice of taking photographs or videos under a person's

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are ...

kilt A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...

, capturing an image or video of the

crotch In humans, the crotch is the bottom of the pelvis (the region of the body where the legs join the torso) and is the part of the body that includes the groin and genitals. Etymology ''Crotch'' is derived from ''crutch''; it was first used in 1 ...

area, showing

underwear Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled ...

such as

panties Panties are women's form-fitting underpants. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genitalia (usually lined with absorbent material such as cotton), and a pair of leg openings that, like the waistband, ...

, and sometimes

genitalia A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

. An "upskirt" is a photograph, video, or

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

which incorporates such an image, although the term may also be used to refer to ''the area of the body'' inside a skirt, usually from below and while being worn. The practice is a form of

sexual fetishism Sexual fetishism is a sexual fixation on an object or a body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has a fetish is a fetishist. A sexual fetish may be regarded as a mental disorder if it causes significant psychoso ...

voyeurism Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". ...

and is similar in nature to

downblouse Cleavage is the narrow depression or hollow between the breasts of a woman. The Superior (anatomy), superior portion of cleavage may be accentuated by clothing such as a low-cut neckline that exposes the division, and often the term is used to de ...

photography. The primary ethical and legal issue relating to upskirt photography in the United States is the

reasonable expectation of privacy In United States constitutional law, reasonable expectation of privacy is a legal test which is crucial in defining the scope of the applicability of the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is related to, ...

, even in a

public place A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...

. In a few countries, nonconsensual upskirting is a criminal sexual offense. Marilyn Monroe photo pose Seven Year Itch

Social attitudes

The sudden popularity in the 1960s of the

miniskirt A miniskirt (or mini-skirt, mini skirt, or mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a dress with such a hemline is called a minidress or a miniskirt ...

brought the concept out onto the streets and was viewed by many as mass

exhibitionism Exhibitionism is the act of exposing in a public or semi-public context one's intimate parts – for example, the breasts, genitals or buttocks. As used in psychology and psychiatry, it is substantially different. It refers to an uncontrolla ...

. One commentator in the 1960s said, "In European countries... they ban mini-skirts in the streets and say they're an invitation to rape..." By contrast, many women viewed the new style as rebellion against previous clothing styles and as

women's liberation The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminism, feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resu ...

of their own bodies. For the first time, many women felt comfortable exposing their thighs, whether on the beach in a swimsuit or in street wear, and were even relaxed when in some situations their underwear would be visible. Some upskirt and downblouse images are made with the knowledge and consent of the females affected. However, some of these images can end up being more widely distributed or being posted onto the Internet without the knowledge and consent of the subject, for example as

revenge porn Revenge porn is the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their consent, with the punitive intention to create public humiliation or character assassination out of revenge against the victim. The material ma ...

following a

relationship breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the ending of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a breakup ...

. Attitudes hardened with the very widespread availability and use of digital photographic and video technology, most recently

camera phone A camera phone is a mobile phone that is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with a color c ...

s. Such technology was also being used to record upskirt and downblouse images for uploading onto the internet. Specialist websites came into existence where people could share such images, and terms such as "upskirt", "downblouse" and "nipple dress" (i.e., when an erect nipple is evident through the material of a woman's dress) came into use. Of particular concern were images of minors and of people who could be identified. Celebrities were popular victims of such efforts. Issues of privacy and reputation began to be raised. The creation and viewing of this type of image came increasingly to be described as forms of

and pornography. This was not that most of such images were sexual in nature, with most of them being quite innocent by themselves, but because of their association with the nature of the website on which they were posted and because of the size of the collections.

Safety shorts

Some skirt-wearers, particularly those who are prominently in public such as female athletes and celebrities as well as schoolgirls, wear "safety shorts" under their skirts to protect themselves from upskirting.

Legality by country

Many countries do not have laws which protect a person's right to personal privacy, especially in a

, but the legal position does vary considerably. The following is a list of countries that does have laws related to this subject.

Australia

All jurisdictions within Australia have passed laws making it illegal to take upskirt photos in

public places A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...

without the person's consent.

Finland

In 2010, an elderly man had his camera confiscated and was fined 12

day-fine A day-fine, unit fine or structured fine is a pecuniary sanction which is based on the severity of the offence as well as the income (or wealth) of the offender. The fine amount is calculated by determining the number of days based on the sever ...

s for the act of ''public obscenity'' (which was thought to be the closest match in the criminal code), having taken dozens of upskirt photos in a shopping centre in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

France

In August of 2018, France passed its first law specifically criminalizing upskirt voyeurism, defined as "''using any means in order to perceive the private parts of a person which that person... when committed without the knowledge or consent of the person''". The law makes such offenses punishable by one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros.

Germany

In November 2019, the

German Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the lower house of the German federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for ...

approved a bill to criminalize both upskirting and "criminalize photographing victims of accidents or pictures that" show a dead person in a grossly offensive way; German media has referred to the latter as

rubbernecking Rubbernecking is a derogatory term primarily used to refer to bystanders stopping previous activity to stare at accidents. More generally, it can refer to anyone staring at an object of everyday interest compulsively. The term ''rubbernecking'' ...

India

In India, under section 66E, of the

Information Technology Act The Information Technology Act, 2000 (also known as ITA-2000, or the IT Act) is an Act of the Indian Parliament (No 21 of 2000) notified on 17 October 2000. It is the primary law in India dealing with cybercrime and electronic commerce. Secon ...

, "Whoever, intentionally or knowingly captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without his or her consent, under circumstances violating the privacy of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years or with fine not exceeding two

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...

(200,000) rupees, or with both". The words "private area" mean the naked or undergarment-clad genitals, pubic area, buttocks or female breast; "under circumstances violating privacy" means circumstances in which a person can have a reasonable expectation that any part of his or her private area would not be visible to the public, regardless of whether that person is in a public or private place.

Japan

In Japan,

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

level Trouble Prevention Ordinances (迷惑防止条例) prohibit

secret photography Secret photography is the use of an image or video recording device to photograph or film a person who is unaware that they are being intentionally photographed or filmed. It is sometimes called covert photography. Uses A person may be unawar ...

, along with

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitorin ...

, chikan and other offenses. Although every prefecture in the country has adopted some variation of the ordinance, details vary greatly. In June 2023, as a part of the sex crime reform, Japanese parliament passed a new law that replaces the prefecture-dependent implementations of Trouble Prevention Ordinances. Under the new law, the act of secretly photographing or filming a person's sexual appearance, as well as providing such photos or videos to a third person, are subject to imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 3 million Japanese yen.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, it is illegal to make a visual recording of a person's

intimate part An intimate part, personal part or private part is a place on the human body which is customarily kept covered by clothing in public venues and conventional settings, as a matter of fashion and cultural norms. Depending on the culture, revealing th ...

s in any setting in which the person has a "

". This includes public and private settings. It is also illegal to possess or distribute such images.

South Korea

In South Korea, the Sexual Violence Punishment Act prohibits secret photography, the photographing of people without their permission. Such filming is subject to criminal penalties and results in those convicted being registered as sex offenders. This applies to activities such as upskirting and also to filming a clothed person from a long distance. If the person being photographed is a minor, the punishment is more severe. It is the filming, not the distribution, that constitutes the crime. When a person is photographed from a long distance, the court judges whether there is "sexual intention" or a "sexual body part" is photographed or "sexual shame" is the result. The law has been criticized for having no clear standards for legal interpretation. Some South Korean lawyers suggest that posting videos of street events such as Halloween on social media may constitute a sex crime.

United Kingdom

England and Wales

Since April 2019, upskirting has constituted the specific offence of

under the

Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) is an Act of the Parliament (for England and Wales). It partly replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with more specific and explicit wording. It also created several new offences such as non-consensual voyeu ...

. It is defined as creating images of or operating equipment to view genitals, buttocks or underwear beneath clothing where they would not normally be visible, for the purpose of sexual gratification or to cause humiliation, alarm or distress. The maximum sentence for the offence is two years' imprisonment and in the more serious sexual cases those convicted are added to the

Violent and Sex Offender Register In the United Kingdom, the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) is a database of records of those required to register with the police under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (the 2003 Act), those jailed for more than 12 months for violent offen ...

. Before 2019, there were no specific laws against upskirting in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

. When upskirting took place in public, it was outside of the scope of the offence of voyeurism under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Nevertheless, prosecutions for upskirting were successful under the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

offence of

outraging public decency Outraging public decency is a common law offence in England and Wales, Halsbury's Laws of England 5th edition, volume 26, paragraph 717 Hong Kong and the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. It is punishable by unlimited impriso ...

, which requires the presence of at least two other people and for the act to be done in a public place. Following a public campaign to change the law, a government bill was introduced to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

on 21 June 2018. Speaking on the government's behalf in the House of Lords, Baroness Vere of Norbiton said the legislation would also protect men wearing

kilts A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first re ...

. The Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 12 February 2019, taking effect two months later.

Scotland

Upskirting is a specific offence in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

under the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010. This act, which was passed by the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

, extended the definition of voyeurism to cover upskirting.

Northern Ireland

As in England and Wales before 2019, there is no specific offence of upskirting in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, but can in certain circumstances be prosecuted as the common law offence of

United States

In the United States, laws vary by state. At the federal level the United States enacted the ''Video Voyeurism Prevention Act'' of 2004 to punish those who intentionally make an image of an individual's private areas without consent, when the person knew the subject had an

expectation of privacy In United States constitutional law, reasonable expectation of privacy is a legal test which is crucial in defining the scope of the applicability of the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is related to, ...

. This act applies only in areas under federal jurisdiction. Additionally, many state laws address the issue as well. A 2005

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

law made it a crime to videotape or transmit upskirt videos of other people without their consent. A 2014 Chicago ordinance made the crime punishable by a $500 fine. In March 2014, the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the distinction of being the oldest continuously fu ...

overruled a lower court upskirt ruling because the women photographed were not nude or partially nude, saying that existing so-called Peeping Tom laws protect people from being photographed in dressing rooms and bathrooms when nude or partially nude, but it does not protect clothed people in public areas. A law was then passed in Massachusetts to ban the practice. In September 2014, the

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a presiding judge and eight judges. Article V ...

voided the state's statute against "improper photography or visual recording" including "upskirt" photos, saying its wording was overly broad. The court's opinion stated: "Protecting someone who appears in public from being the object of sexual thoughts seems to be the sort of 'paternalistic interest in regulating the defendant's mind' that the First Amendment was designed to guard against."

References

External links

* {{Sexual slang Pornography terminology Sex crimes Sexual fetishism Sexual harassment Sexual abuse Sexual misconduct Sex and the law Sex laws Skirts