Remember my naked photograph incident at my local pool? Well............

[Northerner]

The council have responded to my letter and are basically fobbing me off. They say it is impossible to man the changing rooms as they don't have teh staff or the money, they can not ban mobile phones as it is too difficult and I was not offered any support or comfort by their staff because I didn't appear to be upset.

FFS my son and I had just seen a man peering over our cubilcle and take a picture of me naked - did they think I'd be delighted FFS.

They have not mentioned any procedure being implemented to prevent this in future and still have not offerred me my money back. So i STILL paid for the pivelage of being perved on.

I am so

What should I do next because I simply can not let this lie.

TIA

Clumsymum !!!!!!!

You said: "Yes it is fairly horrid that you looked up and saw someone trying to photograph you naked, but you weren't actually physically hurt."

I have been physically hurt - by accident - in the past, which "hurt" hurt, but which healed and left no scars - physical or mental because it wasn't intended.

I was also subjected to a barrage of drunken abuse on a train once when I was minding my own business - which didn't hurt me, but which made me feel shocked, vulnerable and nervous about travelling on my own. I felt sick and still do, if I think about it.

I'd imagine that Northerner's feelings may be similar - shock, "humiliation", anger that her privacy was invaded when she was also minding her own business and nervousness for the future whenever she's in similar surroundings. In her shoes I would also feel sick at the thought of my image ending up on one of the many websites devoted to "candid" camera situations.

I agree it's best not to dwell on stuff like that if you can possibly avoid it but potentially this is something which could happen again - and, to children, who would also be physically vulnerable, simply because some penny-pinching council won't ensure proper privacy for its customers who have paid for the "privilige" of unsafe facilities.

It's for that reason that I personally would not be able to "get on" with my life - feeling that my own freedom to go swimming had been curtailed and worrying that the same thing could quite easily - in those surroundings - happen again to others, including children.

It is the council's responsibility to ensure its customers are as safe as possible when using their leisure facilities. Once I'd been reassured that the steps had been taken which should have been done in the first place, then I'd feel able to move on with my life.

As for sympathy - again, were I Northerner I would not have wanted someone's arm around me but I would have expected the staff to express their sympathy and indignation that such a thing had happened. Maybe offer me a cup of tea, and ensure the manager was called to deal with it. Check if I wanted to call someone to collect me if I was feeling too wobbly to drive - that sort of thing. From Northerner's description I am not sure any of this happened ........ yet it only happened because of their crappy set-up and for the staff to be pretty indifferent about it kinda therefore adds insult to injury.

Fab post catsmother!!! I've used some of that in my letter !!!

Quick update here. The pool manager and head of leisyre at teh council want me to meet with them to discuss what happenned.

I'll keep you posted.

I agree with WWW and clumsymum.
I can't see how it was the pool's fault in any way any more than takiing an upskirt photo in a supermarket would be Tesco's fault.

I too would be pissed off at whoever took the picture, but not at the pool management.

I am also wary about involving the paper as I am not sure what their motive will be in running this story. You are an extremely pretty woman and I am sure this will make them VERY keen to run your story, with accompanying picture of course.I would not be surprise if they ask to photograph you in your swimsut

But I wasn't in a public place like a supermarket. I was in a locked cubicle!

she was in a locked cubicle which is designed (albeit not sufficiently well) for people to be naked in, not wandering around Tesco's.

and as a matter of interest, if someone did stick their hand up my skirt to take a photo i would be in a position to shout out and alert the security guards to a happy snapper who i'm quite sure would be only too happy to pin him to the ground. the problem is that if you are in a cubicle you are likely to be naked and therefore unlikely to be able to deal with the situation (ie jump out and rugby tackle the person) quickly and efficiently.

Is it easier to understand her frustration at the lack of protection offered against the misuse of advancing techonology but the local council if we use the example of a 6-year-old girl?

it seems to me that all Northerner has done is expose (ahem) the frailties of the swimming pool security and while the council might not consider her to have been particularly damaged (something which i might dispute, actually) they need to think about the situation from the perspective of protecting their even more vulnerable patrons.

Hi northerner, thanks for the update. I hope this means they might actually be willing to do something to stop this happening to anyone else, and give you a proper apology for their complete indifference to the problem.
(a couple of months ago a small boy wriggled under the door of the cubicle I was trying a swimming cossie on, in Tesco. I was shocked and angry, yet that doesn't compare to your case. I suppose I'm trying to say, I know where you are coming from on this)

'by the local council'

IIRC I thought I read about tightening the law on capturing images without consent ? I think it's now illegal.

Further, IIRC, one is allowed to request a copy of CCTV under the data protection act if one has been recorded (as you were, N, on entering the pool)... I'd be inclined to see if the pool or the police would allow you to watch that day's tapes to see if you can ID the guy.

I would imagine if he's done it to you, he will have done it to other people that same day, and probably returned to the pool to do it again. I don't get the vibe, reading N's posts that she felt this was a one-off jokey thing by a teenager IYSWIM.

(Just to clarify re: images - it wasn't in the context of taking photos out and about, but more to address the upkirts / mobile phone cams etc.)

I know what you mean Betty. I'll keep you posted! Might need you if I'm rallying local women for a protest!

Hub - The police are investigating as it is indeed ilegal now, slim chance of catching whoever it was though.

So my gripe now lies with the swimming pool providing unsafe facilities.

where abouts are you? what's the local paper? (really want to know the pool, but presuming it's inappropriate to ask/ say)

How awful.

It's not the pools fault that it occured but they should try to prevent it happening again & show some concern about the situation, especially as it could easily have been a young girl or boy on their own.

At our pool there are mixed changing rooms which are easily seen from the pool & shower area - if this is not the case could they not have an attendant patrolling the area - at random infrequent moments if not for longer.

There really is no need to have a turned on mobile at the poolside. I'm sure most people would welcome a ban on them if it prevents this happening again.

Stinkypeyte - I'm in Harrogate. The pool is The Hydro and the paper is the advertiser.

I don't see why the fact it was a locked cubicle makes the pool any more responsible.

I can't recall even being in a cubicle that was not open above head height and with a gap under the door. That's a pretty standard design.

This guy was a pervert. He went out of his way to take your picture. The pool management can not be held responsible.

Do you think the pool should rebuild all its cubicles using our taxes so there is no way this can ever happen again?

eeek, northerner - I'd missed the original post on this. at perv at the hydro!
I take my children there, it would have never occured to me that someone might do this.

OOh another local for my protest!!! Are you in geekgrrl?

yes, count me in.
I've always hated the changing area there. To think you can send children from 8+ there on their own - I'd never send a child there alone, with those rambling, mixed changing cubicles.

oooh hello geekgrrrl, didn't know you were another local?!
Good luck Northerner. (I went there last week with my two and felt completely paranoid the whole time I was getting changed!)

Yes Jasper I do beleive the pool should modify the cubicles and provide a safe and secure environment to change in. As many other pools in the UK have. I have done my research on this beleive you me, it is not just the cubicles that are wrong at my local pool but the whole setup. Anyone can walk in off the street and enter the changing rooms without being challenged and without buying a ticket.

How would you feel if it was your 14 year old daughter? We're not just talking a peeping tom here, we're talking about a photograph that could be all over the internet by now.

Ladies I seriously think you have lost the plot.
There are bad people out there.

If I saw a protest outside my pool and it was about this I would be seriously tempted to tell you all to get a life.

It is not the fault of the pool!

I would be very pissed off at the man, not at the pool.

hello fullmoonfiend, I didn't know were local, either.

The person who took the photo is to blame of course. However, it happenned because of the way they have built their changing rooms and because they have no security. They can do things to prevent it from happenning again.

Also, they handled it in such an appaling manner.