Digital voyeurs

The increased miniaturisation of digital technology, the ready availability of recording devices, coupled with the ease with which digital images can be reproduced and uploaded, has led to an apparent increase in conduct which may broadly be described as ‘voyeurism’. Typically, this involves a person surreptitiously observing, and in some cases recording, another person in what would generally be regarded as a private place. For example, the sports centre manager who installed a camera to film women in the shower and using sunbeds, the apartment building superintendent who concealed surveillance equipment in the apartments of two female tenants, or the stepfather who concealed a video camera to secretly record his adult stepdaughter showering.

Of course, such conduct is not new, and specific ‘peeping Tom’ statutes have existed in some jurisdictions since at least the beginning of the nineteenth century. Such statutes have, however, been the exception, with most jurisdictions relying upon other offences such as nuisance, stalking, offensive behaviour, public disorder or trespass. That situation has changed in recent years with the enactment of specific voyeurism statutes.

Because it is surreptitious by nature, it is difficult to assess how prevalent voyeurism is. The lack of a specific offence also means it has traditionally not been reflected in official crime statistics. Anecdotally, it seems to be increasing, and while digital technology has not created this phenomenon, it has undoubtedly facilitated it in a number of ways.