Page 376 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 17 February 2015
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some of these. In particular, they comment about the framing of the offences and the rather nebulous concepts of “invasion of privacy” and “indecent” upon which the offences turn. I agree that this is a very difficult area in which to legislate and in which to balance human rights. Certainly there are some challenging issues with framing an offence where the offending conduct must be indecent or an invasion of privacy.
How do we define exactly what type of behaviour crosses the line from non-criminal to criminal? The way the offence is framed, determination is largely left to the magistrate. I have looked at the issue quite closely and I think that the framing of the offence makes a good attempt at balancing the competing rights.
It is important to remember how vital it is that the ACT have offences to criminalise and help prevent this type of invasive, indecent behaviour. It is critical, in my view, that we have a law that is framed in a way that can satisfactorily capture the range of these voyeuristic and intrusive behaviours that are committed too frequently against women.
We need to be mindful of the context in which these new offences are made. Sexual and physical violence perpetrated by men against women in Australia is endemic. One in three women will suffer violence at the hands of a man. This violence is underpinned by attitudes that regard women as second-class citizens. It is underpinned by a sense of male entitlement to female attention and, in many instances, it reflects the shameful reality that these women are still considered public property by some men in our community.
Upskirting or downblousing, where women’s bodies are filmed or photographed in a way that is intended to be sexual and without their consent, is an appalling demonstration of the way in which women are objectified. I agree that our job as a government—and, to varying degrees, it is our responsibility as citizens—is to ensure that our streets and public places are accessible to all members of our community.
The fact is that women have very real reasons to feel that many public places are not safe or welcoming spaces for them. A VicHealth report released at the end of last year found that one in four women felt unsafe using public transport and one in three felt unsafe walking home alone, compared to approximately one in 10 men. That means that a third of women feel that they can participate less freely in public life than I and other men can, and that is unacceptable.
Upskirting or downblousing can happen on shopping centre escalators, in change rooms, on train station platforms, at bus stops, on park benches. The list goes on. All around the world upskirting and downblousing have become an increasingly large problem. The internet is filled with photos of women—some of whom would be unaware that they were photographed at all—which are displayed on websites, bought, sold, rated and consumed by men all over the world. This is a serious violation of women in and of itself and must be dealt with seriously by the law.
There is also part of a spectrum of violence and harassment that women experience in public places, which ranges from cat calls to groping, to stalking, to physical or sexual
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