A Peterborough charity says non-contact sexual offences can be a gateway to more serious crimes
It's as police officers across England and Wales will receive training in how to handle these offences
A Peterborough Charity is welcoming news that police officers across England and Wales will now receive training in how to handle non-contact sexual offences.
This refers to any sexual gesture that is unwanted.
It can include upskirting, voyeurism and exposing yourself to others.
These can often serve as a gateway to more serious violent crimes.
It's really threatening, and it's not consensual
Mandy Geraghty, Chief Executive Officer at Peterborough Women's Aid, said:
"Unfortunately, we are seeing an increase in non-contact sexual offences, especially in young people."
"The impact on the victims is huge."
"It's really threatening, and it's not consensual."
"This is potentially just the beginning, and their behaviours can escalate into committing sexual assault."
"It's really important that young people are educated and that there are clear consequences for perpetrators."
"I think it's really important that police officers are trained in this and how traumatic it can be for victims and these offences are taken really seriously to avoid escalation in the perpetrators behaviour."
Their behaviours can escalate into committing sexual assault
The online learning module has already been completed by more than 2,000 officers and is being rolled out across England and Wales.
The course was designed with the help of the mother of murdered student Libby Squire.
Ms Squire thinks Pawel Relowicz exposed himself to Libby months before he raped and killed her.
During his trial, the jury heard Relowicz had a string of past non-contact sexual offences, including masturbating in public.
Data from 2022 shows the overwhelming majority of sexual exposure crimes and offenders do not come in contact with the police.
There is some evidence that greater levels of interaction with victims during sexual exposure may be a risk factor for offenders who move to contact sexual offending.