Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for the Home Department is taking to tackle covert filming in public spaces.

Everyone deserves to feel safe both in public and online. In addition to existing offences for the sharing of intimate images, we have introduced offences to the Crime and Policing Bill of taking an intimate image and installing equipment with the intent to take intimate images, without consent or reasonable belief of consent. These offences cover images which show the victim in an intimate state, and would capture some content on a public street, such as photographs taken up clothing that show underwear or nudity.

We have also provided funding to intensify Project Vigilant across police forces to keep women safe in public spaces. Project Vigilant involves specially trained plain clothed officers observing individuals in public, mostly in the night-time economy, to identify those exhibiting predatory behaviours. Uniformed officers are then called in to disrupt their behaviour, which could include filming women without their consent.

From 1 April, measures under the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 will come into force. Depending on the facts of the case, this could include where the intent of covert filming is to cause harassment, alarm or distress because of the victim’s sex.

To go further, in Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls we committed to launching a call for evidence on online misogynistic image-based abuse, and the extent to which there are new behaviours which may not be captured by existing criminal offences. This will allow us to consider whether any further change is needed to future proof the law.