‘Upskirting’ likely to become criminal offence

London, June 15: Upskirting — the practice of secretly taking pictures up women’s skirts — is likely to become a specific criminal offence in the UK punishable by up to two years in prison. Justice Minister Lucy Frazer said on Friday that the government would back a private member’s bill introduced by the Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse outlawing the practice, the Guardian reported. While Scotland has had its own law on upskirting for almost a decade, there is no specific legislation against the intrusive act in England and Wales, according to UK’s Press Association. Under the new legislation, which will have its second reading in the House of Commons, perpetrators would face up to two years in jail and the most serious offenders would be named on the sex offenders register. (IANS)