Some may wonder why it is important to prohibit such behavior, especially if many women are unaware that they are being recorded. Taking recordings up someone’s skirt, especially to share online or use in other ways for sexual gratification, does not add anything productive or positive to society. Instead it can make women as a whole feel less safe and comfortable in public spaces just knowing that they could be the target of such actions. If they have been recorded before or know someone who has, they may feel violated, upset and distrusting while in public spaces.

Upskirt recordings are a form of gender-based street harassment, and street harassment is a widespread problem in the United States, ranging from sexual comments to following and groping. It affects at least 65% of women and 25% of men (for the latter, the harassment mostly takes the form of homophobic slurs). Street harassment can make people feel less safe, affect them emotionally, and be re-traumatizing for survivors of sexual abuse.

Why do we need a law against upskirt recordings? While there are pitfalls to laws — including how hard it can be to enforce them and how the legal system is often fraught with racism, sexism, and victim-blaming — they can set the tone that certain behavior is not OK. Further, it is incongruent to have such recordings be legal in one state but not in the next.