Her name is Gina Martin. She was at a music festival in London when a man pushed his phone between her legs and took a photo under her skirt. She reported it to the police immediately. They told her it wasn't a criminal offence. There was nothing they could do.
She went home and decided that was unacceptable. With no legal background, no political connections and no funding she launched a campaign to make upskirting a criminal offence in England and Wales. She petitioned. She lobbied MPs. She spoke publicly about what had happened to her. The government initially blocked the bill.
She kept going. The Voyeurism Act passed in January 2019. Upskirting now carries up to two years in prison. Scotland followed. Other countries are following. A woman at a festival with no lawyer, no funding and no political connections rewrote the law for an entire nation in eighteen months.
Yesterday I sent questions to the Victorian Major Events Minister's office about the BTS Arirang concert at Marvel, asking what the government was doing to protect fans from scalping and why they failed to designate the tour a 'major event'. Today they responded with this...
“The rape didn’t last long enough”
There is not enough anger in the world to account for how little sexual violence against women just doesn’t matter in society.
me: *quite literally RUNNING to the train*
random man: i think i will stop her and tell her she dropped something. and when she turns back, i will tell her it’s her smile. i think that will make her happy :)