This woman was 'upskirted' at a music festival. Her campaign is changing the law.

UPDATE: April 12, 2019, 11:09 a.m. BST From today, the new anti-upskirting law is in force. Offenders will face up to two years in prison.

Gina Martin was at a music festival watching The Killers last summer when two men kept making advances towards her. She repeatedly turned them down. Shortly after, she spotted one of the men looking at a photo of her crotch on his phone.

She had just been "upskirted" — a term that refers to the act of secretly taking photos or videos under a person's clothes without consent in an effort to capture a person's crotch area, underwear, and genitals.

When Martin, 27, reported the men to police at the festival, she was told there wasn't much they could do; that if she "hadn’t have been wearing knickers it would have been a different story." The police officers deleted the photo from the man's phone and told Martin to enjoy the rest of her night.

SEE ALSO:Why this woman wants to make 'upskirting' a sexual offence in the UK

When she returned from the festival, she discovered upskirting wan't legally considered a sexual offence under English and Welsh law. Not content with this outcome, Martin launched the #StopSkirtingTheIssue campaign to petition the government to criminalise the offence. One year on, the law in England and Wales is changing and it's all because of Martin's tireless campaigning.

After more than 100K people backed Martin's petition to make upskirting illegal, she took her campaign to the only place that can turn signatures into legislation: the government.

"I'll be so encouraged by the fact that one 'normal' person can make a difference and change things!"

Martin told Mashable she's been having meetings in parliament since October 2017 and she gained cross-party support from politicians across the house. "They all agree that what Ryan (my lawyer) and I were proposing wasn't controversial, the gap in the law should be closed and law professionals from across the country agreed with us," says Martin.

The process isn't signed and sealed quite yet, though. Martin and the government have put forward a bill that "will become law soon." She's working closely with the Ministry of Justice to ensure it goes through. Once it hits the statute books — the book in which laws are written — Martin says it will feel "incredible."

"Apart from being able to have brought meaningful change, I'll be so encouraged by the fact that one 'normal' person can make a difference and change things!" she adds.

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Under the existing Sexual Offences Act 2003, upskirting is not considered a sexual offence. Because of a lack of specific legislation, perpetrators have been prosecuted under other loosely related laws. Some offenders have been charged using an old common law called 'Outraging Public Decency', under which you can be prosecuted for public urination, or having sex in public. But, prosecuting using this law suggests that upskirting is more of a "public nuisance" rather than a sexual offence. Because of this legal grey area, and the absence of a specific offence of upskirting, the penalties for those being brought to justice have been mixed. One man was fined £500 ($642) in 2008 and ordered to pay another £500 in legal feeds after he repeatedly took upskirt photos on trains over the course of five months. Other instances have seen repeat perpetrators receiving short prison sentences.

But, once the new law comes into place, upskirting will not only become a specific criminal offence, it will also be punishable by up to two years in prison. And the "most serious offenders" risk being placed on the sex offenders register, per the Ministry of Justice.

The road to making upskirting a sexual offence has not been without some rather large obstacles. In June 2018, a bill criminalising the offence was blocked by Conservative MP Christopher Chope. Martin was sitting opposite Chope — who previously voted against same-sex marriage in the House of Commons when he shouted: "Object."

"I was pretty upset and disappointed," says Martin. "But, we knew that was a risk, we knew he was going to do it and had been trying to stop him." It later emerged in a radio interview that Chope didn't actually know what upskirting is. The MP also claimed he objected on principle because he doesn't agree with legislation being considered on a Friday when there isn't, in his view, ample time in which to properly debate it.

But, Martin didn't lose hope. Chope's actions were "more annoying" than anything else, she says. "I knew it wasn't over, the government had assured me that even if [Chope] did do it, they wouldn't let it go," Martin added.

Gina Martin with her lawyer Ryan Whelan.Credit: gina martin

Justice Minister Lucy Frazer said that the creation of specific offence for upskirting sends "a clear message that this behaviour will not be "tolerated and that perpetrators will be properly punished." "This behaviour is a hideous invasion of privacy which leaves victims feeling degraded and distressed," said Frazer in an official statement.

Martin says it should be "a matter of months" until the bill hits the statute books. She hopes it'll happen "this side of Christmas."

"Sexual assault isn't just a fee we have to pay for being women."

As someone who's turned a traumatic experience into a change in the law, she hopes that other survivors of sexual assault can "take strength" from her story.

"I hope it makes them feel empowered and realise that sexual assault isn't just a fee we have to pay for being women," says Martin. "It shouldn't just be part of life."

Martin's story is one that many of us can also learn from. Prior to being upskirted, she had no legal or political experience. But, she didn't let that didn't stand in her way. Martin enlisted the help of a lawyer to help her create an argument that was "legally sound and politically astute."

Martin had the courage to speak truth to power and, on this occasion, power listened.

"If you want to change things, you can," says Martin. "You just have to work your ass off, be clever, and not take no for an answer."

UPDATE: Jan. 16, 2019, 11:32 a.m. GMT New legislation has been approved by the House of Lords after legislation making upskirting a crime in England and Wales. The legislation awaits the Royal Assent, a final formality that takes place once a bill has completed all the parliamentary stages in both houses.

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