In recent years, clandestine photo-taking has become a serious problem, with 285 reported cases in 2017 and 313 in 2016. One of the most rampant forms of clandestine photo-taking is upskirting, which involves taking photos or videos of a person from beneath their clothing without their consent. In the past three years, there have been 327 reported cases of upskirting in MTR areas alone, with an average of 100 cases annually. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the number only includes incidents that took place in railway areas.

Unfortunately, Hong Kong does not have a specific law against clandestine photo-taking, and the police use public order-related laws to make arrests, such as loitering, disorderly conduct in a public place, and acts outraging public decency. This means that clandestine photo-taking within personal and private relationships is not covered by existing criminal charges, leaving victims of sexual violence with insufficient protection. The Law Reform Commission has proposed a new offence of 'voyeurism' to address this issue, and to let the public know that clandestine photo-taking and observation are intrusions on others' rights and sexual autonomy. However, it has been noted that the new offence might not cover acts of upskirting.

This paper presents the Association's recommendations for improving the proposal of the new offence of 'voyeurism' by extending its coverage to include upskirting. We sincerely hope that the government will carry out these reforms as soon as possible.