Oregon is Attempting to Ban Upskirt Photos Taken Without Consent

Yes, you read that headline right: the state of Oregon is “attempting” to ban unwarranted upskirt photos. Because as is infuriatingly the case in many other municipalities, there’s a question of whether or not the practice of taking pictures of women’s genitals without their consent is entirely illegal.

Reports AP Online:

The state Senate unanimously passed the bill, which would make it a misdemeanor to surreptitiously take photos up women’s dresses without their consent. A teachers union proposed the measure after a student took so-called upskirt cellphone photos of an educator and shared them online.

The Senate vote came three months after an Oregon judge ruled a 61-year-old man did nothing illegal when he snapped photos up a teen’s skirt in a Target store.

The judge in the Target case said that while the act was lewd and appalling, it didn’t violate the state’s existing voyeurism laws because the girl was clothed and in a public place.

Just reading that makes me want to throw up in my mouth.

An Oregon public school teacher, Dana Lovejoy, who was also the victim of upskirt photos taken without her consent—by a student, who then shared the images via social media before Lovejoy had a chance to react, much less realize what had happened—is also in support of the bill, adding that “laws have not kept up with technology.”

There’s no word yet on when lawmakers will vote on the bill—and if it passes, Oregon joins only a small handful of other states that have banned upskirt photos taken without consent.