Fewer than 40 upskirting cases being passed to Crown Office a year, figures show

Fewer than 40 cases of upskirting on average per year were passed on to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) since 2018, figures have revealed.

A freedom of information request by the Scottish Liberal Democrats showed 226 cases of upskirting were reported to the COPFS between July that year and July 2024 – an average of 38 a year.

The party has called for the Scottish Government to ensure any obstacles in bringing instances of upskirting to court are resolved to ensure offenders can be prosecuted.

Upskirting involves a person taking images or videos underneath someone’s clothing without permission.

The Lib Dems said “loopholes” in the law mean offences only cover images obtained for motives of sexual gratification or for causing distress.

Liam McArthur, the party’s justice spokesman at Holyrood, urged the Government to review the law around upskirting.

He said: “I would love to think that these limited number of offences represented the sum total of upskirting offences in our country.

“However, the reality is that victims already feel a sense of shame when reporting offenders to the police and worry that there will be no consequences.

“We need the Government to take these offences seriously. They compromise the safety and dignity of women and constitute a form of harassment that for too long has been ignored.

“We need to give victims confidence that their cases will be dealt with and instil in perpetrators a fear that will not get away with it.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats will continue to press the Government to review the law in this area to allow more cases to be reported to COPFS.

“This is the only way of giving victims confidence in the system that should be protecting them.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government takes all forms of abuse and violence against women and girls extremely seriously and always encourages anyone who has been a victim to seek support and contact the police.

“Upskirting has been a criminal offence since 2010, when the Sexual Offences Act came into effect.

“We keep the law under continual review to ensure that it is effective.”

A spokesperson for the Crown Office said: “The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is committed to the effective, rigorous and fair prosecution of sexual crime and careful consideration is given to all reports of alleged criminal conduct which are received.”