|
In clinical psychology,
voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people
engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other
activity usually considered to be of a private nature. In popular imagination the term is used in a more general sense to refer to
someone who habitually observes others without their knowledge, and there is no
necessary implication of any sexual interest.
Voyeurism (from the French voyeur, "one who looks") can take
several forms, but its principle characteristic is that the voyeur does not
normally relate directly with the subject their interest, who is often unaware
of being observed. The voyeur may observe the subject from a distance, or use
stealth to observe the subject with the use of two-way mirrors, camera, videos etc.
Voyeurism is not a new phenomenon. Instances of voyeurism have been found in
the Bible.
Certain voyeuristic fantasies, urges and behavior patterns are classified as
a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of the American Psychiatric
Association and a disorder of sexual preference in the ICD-10. The diagnosis would
not be given to people who experience typical sexual arousal simply by seeing nudity or sexual
activity.
Voyeurism is not a crime in common law. In common law countries, it is only a
crime if made so by legislation. In Canada, for example, voyeurism was not a crime when the
case Frey v. Fedoruk et al. arose in
1947. In that case, in 1950, the Supreme Court of Canada held that
courts could not criminalize voyeurism by classifying it as a breach of the
peace and that Parliament would have to specifically outlaw it. On November
1, 2005, this was done when section 162 was added to the Canadian Criminal Code,
declaring voyeurism to be a sexual offense.
In some cultures, voyeurism is considered to be deviant and even a sexual crime. In the United Kingdom,
non-consensual voyeurism became a criminal offense on May 1, 2004.
However, some
societies tolerate it in some circumstances (e.g., adolescent "Peeping Toms" and
the UK dogging craze).[citation needed] Voyeurs
are typically male, although
many women also practice voyeurism.[citation needed]
In the English case of R v
Turner the manager of a
sports center filmed four women taking showers. There was no indication that the
footage had been shown to anyone else or distributed in any way. The defendant
pleaded guilty. The Court of Appeal confirmed
a sentence of nine
months imprisonment to reflect the seriousness of the abuse of trust and the
traumatic effect on the victims.
It has been claimed that some individuals who engage in "nuisance" offenses
(such as voyeurism) may also have a propensity for violence. Voyeurs may demonstrate some characteristics that are common, but not universal,
among sexual offenders of all types including sadistic or violent offenders who
invest considerable time and effort in the capturing of a victim (or image of a
victim); careful, methodical planning devoted to the selection and preparation
of equipment; and often meticulous attention to detail.
In the United States,
video voyeurism is an offense in nine states and may require the convicted
criminal to register as a sex
offender. The original case
that led to the criminalization of voyeurism has been made into a television
movie called Video
Voyeur and documents the criminalization of secret
photography. Criminal voyeurism statutes are related to invasion of privacy
laws but are specific
to unlawful surreptitious surveillance without consent and unlawful recordings
including the broadcast, dissemination, publication, or selling of recordings
involving places and times when a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy
and a reasonable supposition they are not being photographed or filmed by "any
mechanical, digital or electronic viewing device, camera or any other instrument
capable of recording, storing or transmitting visual images that can be utilized
to observe a person."
 Copyright(C) 2007
- 2015. All rights reserved.
|