Sisters Who Confronted Men Filming Up Their Dresses Say Police Questioning 'Embedded Doubt'

Two sisters have spoken out about the "complete violation" they experienced when they were secretly filmed up their dresses during a night out in Manchester, revealing that police questioning afterwards left them feeling doubted rather than supported.

Georgia Scholes, 25, and her sister Alex Scholes, 22, had just left a restaurant in the city's Spinningfields area when they noticed two men following them unusually closely up a set of stairs. Georgia, an actress who appears in the ITV crime drama The Bay, said she sensed "something felt off" when she spotted one of the men holding his mobile phone at an awkward angle, and then she realised he was recording.

The incident occurred on Deansgate on 19 September. Greater Manchester Police confirmed that two men, aged in their 20s and 30s, were arrested on suspicion of voyeurism. Both have since been released on bail while enquiries continue.

Recalling the moment of realisation, Georgia said her "heart just sank" and described the experience as a total violation of her privacy and dignity. She confronted the men directly, telling them they had just recorded her and asking them to delete the footage. At that point, she broke down in tears, overwhelmed by shock at what had happened.

Georgia expressed distress at not knowing what would become of the recording, saying the man had obtained footage up her dress and then walked away with it. She described how he shouted various things while one of the men began running off, even as the other remained strangely close to her.

Alex also repeatedly asked one of the men to delete the video. When he started to flee, she removed her heels and chased after him. She said it was only at that point that a bouncer intervened to stop the other man, an action she believes was decisive in ensuring both suspects were later arrested.

According to Georgia, without the bouncer's intervention the men would have escaped consequences entirely, leaving her to live with the knowledge that the incident had gone unpunished. She said the encounter tainted what had been a positive evening, having gone out feeling good after getting her hair and make-up done.

The following morning, Georgia said she felt an overwhelming sadness, in part because she felt compelled to justify herself throughout the night. She also described how, when she spoke with police, the first question a female officer asked was whether she was sure the man had been recording her, which she said planted a seed of doubt.

The sisters' account raises broader concerns about how upskirting cases are handled and about the tendency of authorities and wider society to question victims' accounts. Georgia argued that advising women to be hyper-vigilant on nights out, to watch their surroundings and to monitor what they drink, is not a solution but barely a plaster over what she called a massive issue.

The mother-of-two stressed that women should not bear the burden of preventing such crimes, insisting the responsibility lies with those who commit them and with the systems meant to hold them accountable.

Alex echoed the frustration with the response they received, saying the men had "picked the wrong two girls" that night. She said the sisters refused to be belittled, defended themselves, and endured a whole load of abuse in the process.

She described feeling violated and said the incident represented complete disrespect, tainting every good emotion they had felt beforehand. Alex argued that the crime is minimalised and normalised, creating an almost expectation that victims must simply accept what happened.

The sisters also said they called out for help from passers-by during the incident, but not one person responded or intervened. That lack of bystander reaction compounded their sense of isolation, and they believe it reflects a wider societal reluctance to get involved when women are being harassed or filmed without consent.

Upskirting has been a specific criminal offence in England and Wales since 2019, carrying a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Voyeurism offences more broadly can also result in imprisonment. Despite this legal framework, campaigners argue that reporting rates remain low while the prevalence of covert filming continues to be fuelled by the ease of using smartphones and the distribution of such material online.

The case comes amid heightened attention to the issue. A BBC investigation published earlier this year found that men were covertly filming women at night and profiting from the resulting footage, highlighting how technology has enabled a market for non-consensual imagery.

For Georgia and Alex, the experience remains raw. They want their story to shift the conversation away from blaming women and towards holding perpetrators responsible. Georgia said the message she wants to put out is that telling women to be hyper-vigilant is not a solution, and Alex said the norm should be calling out perversion and harassment rather than asking victims to accept it.

Greater Manchester Police said both suspects remain on bail pending further enquiries, and no charges have yet been brought. The sisters say they will continue to speak publicly about what happened, hoping their willingness to confront the men will encourage others to report similar incidents and push for more robust responses from police and the justice system.