WE ALL expect the classroom to be one of the safest places in the world.
But drama teacher Sally Rees was left mortified when her own student upskirted her in class and was then forced to continue teaching the perpetrator.
Not only was she forced to keep teaching them – the student was also made a prefect[/caption]
Now Sally has become an ‘accidental activist’ as she helped change the law to make upskirting a crime in Northern Ireland.
Speaking at the Teachers’ Union, Sally recalled the horrific moment.
The teacher said: “A pupil upskirted me at my school and he wasn’t expelled, and not just was he not expelled, they expected me to teach him.”
Horrified at having to continue to be in the presence of someone who violated her, she went to the union, which fully supported Sally’s refusal to work with the student.
But the school refused to pay attention to the serious incident – even making the student a prefect.
“The union came in and supported me, the school still did not expel the pupil, and he was in that environment with me for 18 months,” she explained.
“And not only that, but they then decided to make him a prefect.”
A pupil typically becomes a prefect after showing good behaviour in school.
But Sally didn’t go down without a fight, instead, with the help of the union, she battled the school through court and finally won the justice she deserved.
The pupil was convicted of outraging public decency, while the school was seen as at fault by the Labour Relations Agency for damaging Sally’s mental health and well-being by continuing to have that pupil in their environment.
The teacher continued to fight the case with the help of her union[/caption]
Sally went on to get a personal injury settlement for the hell she was put through.
The teacher wanted to make sure this wouldn’t happen to anyone again and fought to have upskirting made a criminal offence in Northern Ireland.
We lobbied the politicians and we ensured justice for girls and women moving forward to make this a criminal offence.
Sally Rees
Sally and the union lobbied and campaigned for the law update and in November of 2022, upskirting became a crime.
She continued: “It meant that we have the most robust law against upskirting, because we were able to use the evidence from our case.
“We lobbied the politicians and we ensured justice for girls and women moving forward to make this a criminal offence.”
Now Sally is the president of the union for Northern Ireland and continues to support teachers facing harassment and misogyny.
What is upskirting?
Upskirting is the act of taking a photograph or video under a person’s clothing, typically without their knowledge or consent, with the intention of capturing images of their underwear or genital area.
It is a form of voyeurism and a serious invasion of privacy, often carried out in public places such as on public transport, in shops, or at events.
In the United Kingdom, upskirting was criminalised in 2019 under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019, which made it a specific offence in England and Wales.
Offenders can face up to two years in prison, and in some cases, they may be placed on the sex offenders register. Similar laws exist in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Upskirting became explicitly illegal in Northern Ireland on 2 February 2022, when the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 was passed.
This legislation introduced specific provisions to criminalise upskirting as a distinct offence, bringing Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK in addressing this invasive behaviour.
The clip posted to the TikTok account @nasuwt went viral with over 227k views and 16k likes.
People were quick to praise the teacher in the comments for her hard work.
One person wrote: “Why are abusers rewarded? Making him a prefect?”
Another commented: “So proud of this woman for not listening to all the waffle they came out with ‘oh he’s just a kid’ ‘you’re a teacher it’s your job’ no you did your job protecting all the girls from his behaviour!”
“You’re a champion for holding them accountable,” penned a third.
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