From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Voyeurism is a practice in which an individual derives sexual pleasure from observing other people. Such people may be engaged in sexual acts, or be nude or in underwear, or dressed in whatever other way the "voyeur" finds appealing. The word derives from French verb voir (to see) with the -eur suffix that translates as -er in English. A literal translation would then be “seer” or "observer", with pejorative connotations.

Also, the word voyeur can define someone who receives enjoyment from witnessing other people's suffering or misfortune; see schadenfreude.

Mercury and Herse

Two actors
Young woman watches secretly while two male actors make love. Silk painting; China, Qing Dynasty.

Voyeuristic practices may take a number of forms but their characteristic feature is that the voyeur does not directly interact with the object of their voyeurism (often unaware that they are being observed), instead observing the act from a distance by peeping through an opening or using aids such as binoculars, mirrors, cameras (including camera phones and video cameras), etc. This stimulus sometimes becomes part of a masturbation fantasy during or after the observation.

The key element behind voyeurism, and the factor that distinguishes it from mixoscopia (pleasure from watching others have sex), is that those watched are unaware of the voyeur. Part of the thrill of voyeurism may lie in almost being caught. For some, the closer the voyeur is to being discovered, the larger the thrill. This form of non-consensual voyeurism is considered an invasion of privacy.

Voyeurism may be tolerated or even appreciated if the people viewed are exhibitionists. This relationship is typically role-play where the exhibitionist pretends to not know of the voyeur's presence.

A subset of voyeurs derive sexual pleasure from looking under articles of clothing, an act known as an upskirt. This can be accomplished by camera or simply by a chance viewing up skirts. Some voyeurs also derive pleasure by looking down shirts and viewing breasts, particularly when a woman is bending over. This is commonly referred to as a downblouse.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV, certain voyeuristic fantasies, urges and behavior patterns are classified as a paraphilia with code 302.82.^[1]

In some cultures, voyeurism is considered to be deviant and even a sex crime. In the United Kingdom, non-consensual voyeurism became a criminal offense on May 1, 2004, under section 67 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. However, some societies tolerate it depending upon the circumstances (e.g., adolescent "Peeping Toms" and the UK dogging craze). The stereotypical voyeur is male, although many women also enjoy being voyeurs. In R v Turner (2006) All ER (D) 95 (Jan) the defendant was the manager of a sports centre who recorded footage of 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 at the first opportunity and asked that another offense be taken into consideration. He expressed remorse. The Court of Appeal confirmed a sentence of nine months imprisonment to reflect the seriousness of the defendant's abuse of trust and the traumatic effect on the victims.

Fragonard's The Swing depicts a voyeur hidden in the bushes. As the lady goes high on the swing, he tries to take a furtive peep at her exposed genitals

In Canada, 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 decided courts could not criminalize peeping by classifying it as a breach of the peace; 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 as a sexual offense. ^[2]

It is a myth that individuals who engage in "nuisance" offenses [such as peeping] do not have a propensity for violence.^[3] 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.^[4]

In the United States, video voyeurism is criminalized in nine states. The original case responsible for the criminalization 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^[5] 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 that he or she is 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."^[6]

Some institutions, such as gyms and schools, have banned camera phones because of the privacy issues they raise in areas like changerooms. Saudi Arabia banned the sale of camera phones nationwide for a period, but reallowed their sale in 2004. South Korea requires that all camera phones sold in the country make a clearly audible sound whenever a picture is taken.

• Voyeurism is a common plot device in both serious (e.g. Rear Window and more recently Disturbia) and humorous (e.g. Porky's) films.
• A serious psychological treatment of the topic in cinema was done in Peeping Tom.
• The anime Colorful is devoted almost entirely to the paraphilia.
• Alone With Her is a recent Indie film shot completely from a high tech, spycam point-of-view.

1. ^ http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/voyeurismTR.htm
2. ^ http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cs/C-46/bo-ga:l_IV::bo-ga:l_V//en?page=4&isPrinting=false#codese:162
3. ^ R.R. Hazelwood and J. Warren, "The Serial Rapist: His Characteristics and Victims," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, February 1989, 18-25
4. ^ The Criminal Sexual Sadist [1]
5. ^ Invasion of Privacy Law & Legal Definition [2]
6. ^ Stephanie's Law [3]

• UK law on voyeurism
• Proposed US Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2003
• Video Voyeurism Laws

• Invasion of Privacy