Voyeurism

Voyeurism | Sexual Fetishism | Transvestic Fetishism | Sexual Sadism | Exhibitionism | Obscene Phone Call | Autoerotic Asphyxiation | Frotteurism | Deviant Sexuality | Sexual Addiction

Voyeurism is the act of achieving sexual excitement by looking at someone who are naked, watching someone undress or watching sexual interaction of others without their consent. People who engage in this type of behavior achieve greater sexual arousal when there is a high risk of being caught. For some this behavior allows them to fulfill an experience in which they would be too anxious to do in sexual relationships. This behavior also provides them with the feelings of power and superiority over their victims.

Some observers may masturbate while watching unaware victims or they may masturbate later and replay mental image of the incident to enhance sexual arousal. Some may fantasize about engaging in sexual activity with the person being watch but most of the time the observers limit the activity to watching only and they do not make any attempt to engage in sexual contact with the person being watched.

Most voyeurs have the same characteristics as those who engage in exhibitionism. Mostly men engage in this type of behavior and they are usually inadequate with low self-esteems and poor social skills when relating to the opposite sex. They tend to experience difficulty with dating or getting involved in sexual relationships and they respond by engaging in voyeurism to deal with their distress and to satisfy their sexual desire. These individuals mostly invade the privacy of strangers they do not know and they do not invade on someone they already know. Even though most practitioners are men, some women also engage in this type of behavior to achieve sexual gratification.

There is no definitive explanation about the root cause of this behavior but theory suggest individual may have developed this behavior when they accidently find themselves in situation watching someone naked or watching someone engaging in sexual activity without them knowing. Based on research conducted by FBI, voyeurs are also likely to have similar characteristics as those who commit sex offense.

There are many different types of activity associated with this behavior such as making holes in the wall of public washrooms to invade people’s privacy, peeping into bedroom windows, peeping into bathroom or change room, and using technology such as digital camera or video camera to capture private moments of unaware victims.

The use of video camera has made it easy for many practitioners to invade the privacy of others without them knowing. Small inexpensive video camera can easily be place in hidden location in places such as the bathrooms, locker rooms, change rooms, and bedrooms where it can be used to record private moment of many unaware victims. The video can easily be uploaded to the internet for viewing as some people do it for sexual gratification and some do it for financial gain.

There is little that can be done to prosecute entrepreneurs who make money from selling these videos over the internet. Many of them operate in foreign countries where there have different jurisdiction and are able to carry out the operation without fear of anyone taking legal action against them. Voyeurism is illegal in many jurisdictions and it is a sexual offense punishable under common law only if this law has been passed on by legislation.

Most victims are usually unaware when they are being secretly watched or recorded during their private moment. The only way to protect yourself is to be more aware in situation where this type of activity is more likely to occur. This doesn’t mean you have to be paranoid when you find yourself in places that are more susceptible to this type of activity, but be on the lookout for anything that appears suspicious.

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