New Bill Would Criminalize ‘Upskirting’

Using a camera or cell phone to look up a woman’s skirt will become a felony under a proposal the Legislature will take up before the end of the month.

Bill co-author Rep. James Ott, R-Mequon, said advances in cellphone and camera technology have made the practice of “upskirting” more prevalent. He said the new law fixes a loophole in current state law that allows perpetrators to argue that they are not filming nudity because their pictures only capture a woman’s underwear.

“I think that’s outrageous and absurd, and if we have to specify in the statutes that that is prohibited to make sure aren’t going and doing appeals and clogging up our court system, I think we have to do that,” said Ott.

The bill has strong support from county prosecutors and from legislators from both parties. Several other states including Nebraska and Kansas have already passed similar bills.