‘Peeping Toms’ could soon face imprisonment

Nov 17, 2008 News

Voyeurism is a worldwide phenomenon that is widely known, but there is little recourse in the legislation of Guyana, despite the fact that it could be classified as an invasion of privacy.

Voyeurism may soon be outlawed

Voyeurism is a psychosexual disorder in which a person derives sexual pleasure and gratification from looking at the naked bodies and genital organs of others, or observing their sexual acts. The voyeur is usually hidden from view of others. Voyeurism is a form of paraphilia.

A variant form of voyeurism involves listening to erotic conversations. This is commonly referred to as telephone sex, although it is usually considered voyeurism primarily in the instance of listening to unsuspecting persons.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand, is seeking to rein in this problem by including it in the Sexual Offences Bill where, for example, the offence will cover situations where a victim is observed through a peephole or by a hidden camera.

The maximum penalty currently aims for two years’ imprisonment, as is included in the draft of the Bill.
“We want cases where indecent photographs or videos are taken without the victim’s consent, where the victim was in public places such as a washroom or hotel, or even in the privacy of the victim’s home, where a voyeuristic neighbour may be an intrusive pest to be treated seriously,” Minister Manickchand said.

The minister recalled that, “the participants at Aurora on the Essequibo Coast especially are calling for a higher penalty for this offence, which they referred to as a brutal invasion of privacy.”

They had also expressed fear, citing particular examples, that the voyeur may want to move past just watching and actually do more harm to the person he was watching, according to Manickchand.

A number of countries around the world have already instituted statutes that render voyeurism a crime.
As such, Manickchand describes the move to criminalise voyeurism as catching up with the developed world, in the process upgrading the country’s legislation, and not being left with a plethora of archaic laws, some of which she has already moved to remedy — such as the Matrimonial Causes Act where she is seeking to implement ‘No Fault’ Divorce.