Upskirt
Upskirt is the expression for the perspective in which a person is or can be looked under the skirt . Upskirting describes looking or taking a picture under a skirt. Interest in the upskirt perspective is culturally traditional and is valued differently. Taking pictures without consent is criminally relevant in many countries, for example in terms of sexual harassment . Upskirt images or videos often serve voyeuristic interests. Facilitating the upskirt can be exhibitionistic or aesthetically motivated; however, in sports, for example, an upskirt is often due to practical circumstances.
history
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The painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard published his Roccoco masterpiece The Swing ( L'Escarpolette ) as early as 1767 . In the picture, a young man enjoys the view of the legs of a rocking woman, whose actually long skirt shows her leg through her movement.
Marilyn Monroe's famous flying skirt photo also plays with the upskirt perspective.
An article published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 2003 by Christoph Schultheis, “Die nackte Untruthheit”, deals with the phenomenon of involuntary upskirt in public after sensational reports of “cell phone tensioners” were reported in various German media. According to his research, however, months after the “summer of secret snapshots”, as Ulrich Meyer from Sat. 1 titled him, there were no advertisements in the entire Frankfurt am Main, Munich and Paderborn area. The topic was actually brought up by the Bild newspaper , the first report on "Handy-Spanner" was made after a research request to the swimming pool operator of the city of Hamburg. Bäderland reported to the Bild newspaper, however, that there were no incidents.
In 2003, the number of websites with upskirt images was put at 600.
In the course of 2019, upskirt recordings were publicly discussed on the occasion of an online petition on Change.org , which reached around 100,000 signatories. In November 2019, a draft law on criminalization was passed (see “ Criminal Law ” below ).
Sexualized upskirt
Upskirts can be examined from the perspective of the viewer and the viewed person. When showing or looking at will, there are aspects of exhibitionism and voyeurism .
In her book Sex Crimes Investigations from 2006, Paula Justice describes the quality of the forbidden as the attraction of this genre, it is "like being clamped in a window".
Legal situation and case law in Germany
Criminal law
Upskirting is not an explicit subject of the Criminal Code . "Sexual harassment" (§ 184i StGB) requires contact that is not present when taking photos. With a "degradation of the person", e.g. B. derogatory remarks by the photographer, the offense of insulting may be considered. However, in the case of recordings in apartments or in rooms that are specially protected from being viewed (e.g. changing room), criminal liability for “violation of the highly personal area of life through image recordings” (§ 201a StGB) is possible. Disseminating (passing on) or publishing the upskirt photos without the consent of the person photographed is a criminal offense for violating the right to one's own picture . Tracking can be more difficult if it is not clear who the person being photographed is.
In October 2019, the responsible minister Christine Lambrecht presented key points on her agenda. In the course of the planned changes to individual elements of the Criminal Code, upskirting is also to become a criminal offense. On November 13, 2019, a corresponding draft law on upskirting was passed in the Federal Cabinet . Shortly before, on November 8th, the Federal Council had already passed a draft law against upskirting (image of the genital area of another person). After these and other draft bills had passed through the committees, the Bundestag voted early in the morning on July 3, 2020 for the introduction of a new Section 184k StGB. The approval of the Federal Council is still pending.
civil right
The images distributed or publicly displayed without the consent of the person depicted and the devices intended for their reproduction are subject to destruction in accordance with Section 37 of the Art Copyright Act .
There are also claims for damages, in particular compensation for pain and suffering, up to now due to violation of the general personal right from Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law in conjunction with Article 1, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law - in future possibly according to § 253 and § 823, Paragraph 2 of the German Civil Code in conjunction with § 184k StGB new version - as well as injunctive relief from § 1004 BGB into consideration.
International legal situation and case law
Daniel J. Solove, in his 2007 book The Future of Reputation, describes a case in which two men in Washington State were convicted of upskirt photos in a shopping mall in an initial trial under a law against video voyeurism because the photos " for the purpose of arousing or satisfying sexual desire ”, at a location where the victim would have had reason to expect his privacy to be guaranteed. However, this verdict did not stand up to the Supreme Court of Washington, as the law did not see privacy on a public property such as a shopping mall by taking photographs. The law was later adapted to cover such cases.
"Upskirting" is also banned in France and Belgium, as is New Zealand and Australia, where offenders can be punished with up to two and a half years in prison or up to $ 5,000.
In Japan , it has not been possible to turn off the photography noise of cell phones since 2001. This standard, which is not based on a legal regulation, but on an agreement between Japanese telecommunications providers and telephone manufacturers, is intended to make secret photography more difficult.
In Switzerland, upskirting is considered an offense and involves the violation of confidential and private areas by recording devices. The criminal code provides for a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine on request.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Christoph Schultheis: "Handy-Spanner": The naked untruth. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung . 32/2003, August 10, 2003, p. 25 , accessed on July 4, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Secret photography under the skirt: Germany initiates law against upskirting. In: Spiegel Online . November 13, 2019, accessed July 4, 2020 .
- ^ Robert L. Snow: Sex Crimes Investigation: Catching and Prosecuting the Perpetrators. Westport (Connecticut), Praeger, 2006, ISBN 978-0-275-98934-7 , p. 146.
- ^ Christian Rath: Lambrecht in Karlsruhe: Not only Sunday speeches. In: LTO.de . October 10, 2019, accessed July 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Federal Council: Taking photos under the skirt should become a criminal offense. German Federal Council , November 8, 2019, accessed on July 5, 2020 .
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↑ Bundestag printed paper 19/20668 - recommendation for a resolution and report by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection (6th committee) on the draft law of the federal government Draft of a ... Act to amend the Criminal Code - Improvement of the protection of privacy when taking pictures (printed matter 19/17795). (pdf; 637 kB) Committee on Legal Affairs and Consumer Protection (6th Committee) of the Bundestag , July 1, 2020, accessed on July 3, 2020 . Katharina Redanz: Harsher penalties for upskirting, downblousing and photos of accidental deaths. In: heise online . July 3, 2020, accessed July 5, 2020 .
- ↑ France is making secret under-the-rock photos a criminal offense. In: RT German . July 24, 2018, accessed May 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Police are looking for cell phone spanners! He filmed a woman under the skirt. In: rtl.de . December 4, 2019, accessed May 24, 2019 .
- ↑ Akky Akimoto: Google Glass may shatter Japan's 'manner' mode. In: The Japan Times Online . May 15, 2013, accessed February 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Anna Kappeler: Filming under the rock - what the legal situation is like in Switzerland. In: bluewin.ch. June 27, 2019, accessed June 28, 2019 .