With the advancement of technology came the advancement in way’s men can violate women. I A WOMAN spoke to Gina Martin, a local Liverpool girl who has made it her mission to get ‘upskirting’ a sexual offence.

After refusing the advances of two men during a festival last year, Gina Martin was reduced to humiliation when the men took photos between her legs up her skirt and sent them to people in the crowd around her. Not one to shy away, Gina found a policeman and handed the men, the phone and the photos over only to find that there ‘wasn’t much they could do’.

“I then looked into the law and found a gaping hole that means men who upskirt women can’t be prosecuted as sex offenders, and many cases can’t be prosecuted at all.”

At the moment the law for ‘upskirting’ someone is prosecuted under ‘outraging public decency’ and often a public nuisance order is the only consequence.

This was not good enough for the Liverpool born 26 year-old who decided to take matters into her own hands.

“Hundreds of women have come forward to tell me their stories – which just shows what a real problem this is.”

Gina acted fast by gathering her own round of media and TV shows on her own, as well as speaking to women’s charities and setting up a Care2 petition which has almost 100,000 signatures. Collaborating with female-based online news site, Refiney29, Gina launched #StopSkirtingTheIssue to tell the stories of women who have been upskirted and encourage the Government to change the law.

“I’ve had girls as young as 13 tell me it’s happened to them, and their courage in speaking out enables me to prove to MPs that this is a real problem. We have to speak out; our voices are the single most powerful thing we have.”

Despite doing great work on her own, Gina knew she’d need the help of a lawyer if she wanted to be taken serious by MPs and get the law changed for good. She partnered up Gibson Dunn associate Ryan Whelan, and has since visited parliament numerous times. The petition has caught the eye of many political figures including Justice Secretary David Gauke, who agreed that more needs to be done to make sure ‘upskirting’ is taken as a serious offence.

Gina has been involved in women’s issue her whole life and hopes to continue her working in writing about equality and speaking about activism. Despite being consumed by the desire to change this law, Gina also wants to start educating young people on consent and gender relationships.

“I want any girls reading this to know that you can kick ass just like any guy can. Don’t let anyone make you feel second class because you’re a girl. You can be into politics AND heels. You can shave your head, tattoo your arms, be who you are and be proud of yourself. But always, always be kind and try and make the world a better place.”