Georgia Man ‘Upskirts’ Woman: Court Appeals Man’s Actions As Legal

Georgia man upskirts a woman, but the court appeals his actions as legal. Is it true that it is not an invasion of privacy in the state of Georgia if someone sneaks a video up a woman’s skirt? According to CBS46, upskirting is, indeed, legal in Georgia.

State lawmakers are going to hear about the case where a man from Georgia was pardoned from charges after he was found taking videos up women’s skirts in public. Michael Rivera, Houston County public defender, argued that the invasion of privacy law only pertains if a person is committing the act in a private area, such as in the restroom or dressing room.

We're talking #Upskirting in #Georgia being ruled legal now on @KTAR923 https://t.co/YflZMuGnpL

— Bruce and Pamela on 92.3 (@BruceandPamela) July 26, 2016

Tanya Washington, Georgia State University law professor, disagrees with the ruling.

“You’ve given people license to continue this kind of behavior until the next legislative session which is not until next year.”

Vincent Fort and other state senators, who also disagree with the ruling, plan to make it a priority that the law is corrected at the next legislative session. Unfortunately, the next legislative session is not until the spring.

“So we’re going to have six months or so where these creeps can run around doing this stuff.”

In two other Georgia cases, one in Snellville and the other in Brookhaven, men were arrested for upskirting. It is unknown if these cases will be affected by this most recent court ruling.

The poor wording of Georgia’s invasion of privacy law is what caused the court to rule in favor of the man accused of upskirting.

It shall be unlawful for:

(1) Any person in a clandestine manner intentionally to overhear, transmit, or record or attempt to overhear, transmit, or record the private conversation of another which shall originate in any private place.

(2) Any person, through the use of any device, without the consent of all persons observed, to observe, photograph, or record the activities of another which occur in any private place and out of public view.

However, the law also discusses certain cases that would be legal and not considered an invasion of privacy, which you can view in the Justia website.

Unfortunately for women in Georgia, the way that the law is worded does not protect a woman from being photographed or videotaped in the public as long as the video or photograph was electronically submitted to the public view as described here.

A good example of how Georgia’s invasion of privacy law should be worded is that of Pennsylvania’s invasion of privacy law. It specifically states as follows:

(2) Photographs, videotapes, electronically depicts, films or otherwise records or personally views the intimate parts, whether or not covered by clothing, of another person without that person’s knowledge and consent and which intimate parts that person does not intend to be visible by normal public observation.

Pennsylvania’s invasion of privacy law protects women from being photographed or videotaped, whether covered or not, as long as she does not have any knowledge or consent.

As for the women in Georgia, until your invasion of privacy law is corrected, you may want to think twice about going into public wearing a skirt because the law will overrule your privacy in public.

Here are some ways to protect yourself from being upskirted, provided by WikiHow.

1. Wear a skirt with an appropriate length.
2. Avoid wearing skirts on windy days.
3. Wear undergarments that are less revealing.
4. Wear bike shorts over your undergarments.
5. Wear pantyhose under your skirt.

Now that it has gone public that the invasion of privacy law in Georgia does not disapprove upskirting, it could possibly become a larger problem than it already has been. It is up to you to protect yourself when the law won’t. Let’s hope the law is corrected and worded differently to protect women from upskirting.

[Image via Shutterstock]