Sisters Describe 'Complete Violation' After Being Filmed Up Their Dresses on Manchester Night Out

Two sisters have spoken out about the "complete violation" they felt after being secretly filmed up their dresses during a night out in Manchester, saying the men who targeted them "chose the wrong girls."

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 while appearing to film them.

Georgia, an actress who appears in the ITV crime drama The Bay, said she sensed something was wrong when she spotted one of the men holding his mobile phone at an odd angle. Moments later, she realised he was recording her.

"The moment I realised what had happened, my heart just sank. It was a complete violation," she said.

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

Georgia described confronting the men directly, telling them: "You've just recorded us, please can you delete it." She said the encounter left her in utter shock, and she broke down in tears.

"I was in a situation where this bloke got footage up my dress, and he's gone off with it — I don't know what he's going to do with that footage," she said.

She added that one of the men was shouting aggressively while the other remained strangely close to her, and that one of them began to run away.

What followed was a desperate attempt by the sisters to get help. Georgia said she appealed to passers-by, but "not one person batted an eyelid." Alex repeatedly asked one of the men to delete the video, and when he started to flee, she took off her heels and chased after him.

It was only then that a bouncer intervened, stopping the second man. Both were later arrested. Georgia believes that without the bouncer's actions, the men would have escaped consequences entirely.

"If he hadn't had done that, they would have just got off, and I would have had to live with the fact that all happened," she said.

The mother-of-two explained how the experience overshadowed what had been a positive evening. She had gone into town, had her hair and make-up done, and felt good about herself — a feeling she says was stripped away in an instant.

"When I woke up the next morning, I just felt an overwhelming sense of sadness because I felt like the whole night I had to justify myself," she said.

Georgia also questioned the response she received when reporting the incident, revealing that the first question a female police officer asked her was whether she was sure the man had been recording her.

She said the question "embeds a seed of doubt," and argued that placing the burden of proof on victims compounds the harm they have already suffered.

Reflecting on the wider issue, Georgia said the common advice given to women — to be hyper-vigilant on nights out and to watch their surroundings and their drinks — is not a real solution.

"It's barely a plaster over what is a massive issue," she said.

Alex echoed her sister's anger and determination, describing the men's decision to target them as a serious miscalculation.

"They picked the wrong two girls that night," she said. "We are not going to be belittled, and we will defend ourselves, and we received a whole load of abuse."

She added: "You're not going to violate me, my sister, or anyone in that manner and think you can get away with it. You just feel violated. It's the complete disrespect. It taints every good emotion that you were feeling before it happened."

Alex argued that upskirting is a crime that is frequently downplayed, saying it is "so minimalised and normalised" that victims are made to feel they must simply accept what has happened.

"The norm should be calling out perversion and harassment," she added.

Upskirting — the act of taking a photograph or recording underneath a person's clothing without their consent — became a specific criminal offence in England and Wales in 2019 under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act. Those convicted can face up to two years in prison. Despite the legal protections, campaigners argue that incidents remain vastly underreported, partly because victims fear they will not be believed or that their case will not be taken seriously.

The sisters' account highlights a recurring concern among women: that the responsibility for preventing such crimes is too often placed on potential victims rather than on perpetrators. Their message challenges that framing directly, calling instead for a cultural shift in which harassment and invasive behaviour are openly condemned.

Greater Manchester Police said their investigation into the 19 September incident remains ongoing, with both suspects on bail pending further enquiries.