【Watch Power】

This article has been published to coincide with an episode of Mashable's new podcast,Watch Power History Becomes Her.Listen here.

Gina Martin is an activist, campaigner, author, and law-changer.

In the summer of 2017, Martin was at a music festival in London with her sister when she was upskirted by a man in the crowd.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

The term upskirting refers to the violating act of taking photos or videos under a person's clothes without consent in an effort to capture their crotch area, underwear, and genitals. When Martin reported what happened to police, she was told there wasn't much they could do. What Martin later learned is that upskirting was not legally classed as a sexual offence under the law in England and Wales. So, Martin set about to change that.

In this episode of History Becomes Her, Martin discusses how she lobbied the government and changed the law, making upskirting a criminal offence.

You can listen to the episode onApple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Gina Martin at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 on August 16, 2019. Credit: Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images

In 2017, Martin launched a campaign called #StopSkirtingTheIssue, initially setting out to raise awareness of the prevalence of upskirting. After more than 110,000 people backedMartin's petition to make upskirting illegal, she took her campaign to the government to turn signatures into legislation. Working with lawyer Ryan Whelan, Martin secured cross-party support and meetings with senior lawmakers.

After two years of hard work and determination, Martin changed the lawin England and Wales. Martin made upskirting illegal, and under the new legislation those convicted of the crime face up to two years in prison. In the year since the law change, four men have been jailed and 16 men have been convicted of the crime, according tofigures from the Crown Prosecution Service. Before the change to the law, perpetrators of upskirting were charged with outraging public decency or a crime of voyeurism.

The road to making upskirting a sexual offence was not easy. In June 2018, a bill criminalising the offence was blockedby Conservative MP Christopher Chope. Martin was sitting opposite Chope — who previously votedagainst same-sex marriage in the House of Commons — when he shouted, "Object."

Nevertheless, Martin persisted. Following Chope's objection, then-Prime Minister Theresa May promised that the government would push the law change through parliament. On April 12, 2019, the upskirting law was introduced in England and Wales.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

In this episode of History Becomes Her, Martin speaks about how she brought about tangible change through activism, as well as the challenges she faced in her campaign. Martin also shares her admiration for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district, and the youngest woman ever electedto Congress.

Martin's book Be the Changetells the story of how she went about building a campaign from the ground up, and it's a useful toolkit for anyone wanting to bring about change in the world.

Subscribe to History Becomes Her onApple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast,or wherever you get your podcasts.

Topics Activism Social Good

• Life
• Science
• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Deals
• Tech
• Digital Culture
• Games

• Best air purifier deal: Save $300 on the Dyson HEPA Big + Quiet air purifier
• TV host's award nomination for transphobic slur apology attracts backlash
• Mother Teresa declared a saint in Mass led by Pope Francis
• Watch Tom Hiddleston's award speech get hijacked by Thor co
• Best smart scale deal: Get 15% off an Etekcity scale at Amazon
• Millennials respond excellently to #HowToConfuseAMillennial hashtag
• FBI dumps results of Clinton's email investigation online
• Romeo the dog pulled alive from Italy earthquake rubble after 9 days
• Man City vs. Real Madrid 2025 livestream: Watch Champions League for free
• Beyoncé turned 35, so she can officially run for president

• Michelle Obama tears up during final speech as First Lady
• There's a room with a bunch of dudes watching VR porn at CES
• David Bowie's son wants to find a home for a dog named after his dad
• A blind man attached a GoPro to his guide dog
• Samsung Gear smartwatches now work with your iPhone
• Check out Norman Lear talk about reimagining 'One Day at a Time'
• Ed Sheeran is back with two new songs guaranteed to get stuck in your head
• Men's body image campaigners staged an important protest
• Two determined women take on tech industry sexism in a new Secret ad
• Dell Canvas gives you Surface Studio abilities without the luxury price tag

• Best fitness deal: The Merach R50 rowing machine is 35% off at Amazon
• A Singaporean couple is offering to house pregnant women who live in Zika hotzones
• 11 times the internet improved Trump Jr.'s bizarre appeal to millennial voters
• If you're outraged about Brock Turner, you need to learn about Brian Banks
• Meta deletes all AI character profiles on Facebook, Insta after backlash
• Millennials respond excellently to #HowToConfuseAMillennial hashtag
• 11 things millennials ruined
• Ayesha Curry drains a three
• How to make a hook in a TikTok video
• Millennials respond excellently to #HowToConfuseAMillennial hashtag

• Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids: $139.99 at Amazon
• Airbnb asked to disclose data on 172 users so far this year
• Trump campaign gets in Twitter trouble again with Photoshopped poll image
• These music video vignettes made by Radiohead fans are just incredible
• Man City vs. Real Madrid 2025 livestream: Watch Champions League for free
• Facebook is testing a new feature to encourage conversations
• Here's 10 of the most brutal jokes about Ann Coulter from 'The Roast of Rob Lowe'
• Don't bin them: You can mail back your used Nespresso coffee pods
• Best Soundcore by Anker Space A40 earbuds deal: Save $35 at Amazon
• Facebook is testing a new feature to encourage conversations