Voyeurism Allegations

BSQ’s specialises in defending individuals accused of sexual misconduct. Part of our practice expertise in this area includes representing defendants against allegations of voyeuristic conduct including the relatively new upskirting offence.

There has been considerable pressure from central government for law enforcement agencies to crack down on this type of conduct and so prosecutions for this type of offence are on the rise. Calls to modernise the law in this area have led to a recent Law Commission report on the subject. You can read our guide to the proposals for reform here.

BSQ has recently been instructed in one of the leading cases in this area – see our case studies below.

Voyeurism Offences

At present there are three separate offences capture the taking, making, and sharing of intimate images without consent:

• The voyeurism offence – section 67(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 criminalises the recording of an image of a person doing a private act. Voyeurism carries a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment and is triable either way. See BSQ’s case study below for a recent example of a high-profile case where BSQ represented a client accused of involvement in a conspiracy to commit voyeurism.

• The disclosure offence – section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 criminalises the disclosing and threatening to disclose of private sexual photographs and films.

• The upskirting offence – section 67(a) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 criminalises the recording of an image of genitals and buttocks underneath and above clothing without consent. The specific offence of up skirting was introduced by the Voyeurism Act in 2019 and became law in April 2019 in England and Wales, having already been illegal in Scotland since 2010. It was introduced to strengthen the law in this area and has resulted in many prosecutions – for example, in the six months after its introduction the Metropolitan Police recorded 158 up skirting incidents. Upskirting is an either way offence that carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. 

An additional offence exists contrary to section 67(a) of the Police, Crime and Sentencing Courts Act 2022 which makes it illegal to capture a recording of an image of someone who is breastfeeding.

Case Studies

BSQ’s Client R was one of four individuals accused of involvement in a conspiracy to commit voyeurism together with other offences related to the making and distribution of indecent images. The case concern one of the most serious and complex allegations of voyeuristic activity ever prosecuted in the UK. The Accused were alleged to have conspired together to create, edit, trade and exchange footage and photographs of females changing in swimming pool cubicles. The Prosecution asserted that they had often met together in person and set out on “hunting“ expeditions targeting pools in the southeast known to have unisex changing cubicles to obtain covert footage of women undressing. They then traded this material between themselves. The case is fixed for a four-week trial.

Should you require advice and assistance in relation to an allegation of voyeurism or up skirting please contact our sexual offences solicitors or if you require advice or assistance in relation to a sexual misconduct allegation please contact our solicitors for a confidential consultation.