This story is from November 11, 2019

Peeping Toms a growing menace in Bengaluru, but more women are pushing back now

The number of Peeping Toms caught and cases of prurient invasion of privacy have been on the rise in Bengaluru.
Peeping Toms a growing menace in Bengaluru, but more women are pushing back now
Illustration used for representational purpose
BENGALURU: “I wish I had a second pair of eyes on the back of my head, I could have stopped this creepy guy and his dirty gaze,” said data architect and Domlur resident Neha Mathur who is spooked by the thought of being watched by a stranger while bathing or changing clothes. She vacated her single-bedroom house after the houseowner’s grown-up son was caught red-handed while peeping into her room and taking pictures with his smartphone.
Neha is not alone.
The number of Peeping Toms caught and cases of prurient invasion of privacy have been on the rise in Bengaluru. With hi-tech gadgets becoming smaller by the day voyeurs are spying on women in all spaces – bedrooms and bathrooms, hotels and shopping malls or public transport and parks.
peeping toms

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Bengaluru is the third-most notorious city in the country with regard to voyeurism. While Mumbai and Delhi topped the list with 40 and 38 cases respectively in 2017, Bengaluru registered 29 complaints. But the rise in cases in alarming — while Bengaluru registered 9 cases in 2015, it doubled in 2016 and touched 29 in 2017. Ditto with Karnataka, the total cases increased from 36 in 2016 to 57 in 2017. These statistics, however, don’t give the complete picture as a huge number of voyeurism incidents go unreported because of various constraints and compulsions faced by victims.
“This is changing now,” said director general of police (Criminal Investigation Department) Praveen Sood while pointing out that more women are coming forward to nail the perverts. Sood said: “Earlier, people used to deliver instant justice to Peeping Toms by thrashing them on the spot and everyone would move on. Now, people have realised that lodging police complaints against such perverts will prevent other women from becoming victims.”

The police, too, have started booking more cases, especially after a new section (354 C) related to voyeurism was inserted in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 following the Nirbhaya incident. What baffles junior police officers is the mind of the pervert. A police inspector asked: “We don’t understand why these guys stand in front somebody’s window for months when there is no dearth for sexual content on the internet. Is it some sort of disorder?”
Moreover, voyeurism happens everywhere and with all categories of people in cosmopolitan Bengaluru, police sources said. In fact, Jeevan Bimanagar cops were rattled when the vice-president of a global investment banking company lodged a complaint on August 1 this year against a male employee who had resorted to taking a photo up a woman’s skirt without her consent. Akash Shukla, had shot pictures of female colleagues in the cafeteria for over five months. “Nobody expected this to happen in a corporate office,” police sources said, adding: “Voyeurism is quite common among those doing menial jobs.” Informal studies about voyeurs arrested in Karnataka suggest that a majority of perverts are in the 18-30 age group and hail from a morally repressive environment. Police fear voyeurism is likely to become tool for stalkers and jilted lovers seeking revenge.
Legal expert Sushma Naveen points out: “The right to privacy of a woman was not given importance and due to conservative mindset in families, such cases were never reported or registered as crimes. Now, women are more sensitive and educated about their rights. The civil society too is taking the issue very seriously.”
In fact, residents of Shantinagar nabbed a voyeur on October 14 by creating a WhatsApp group and installed CCTV cameras. Kanakraj, 28, had been peeping into bathrooms and watching women for nearly six months. A few months ago, residents of Rajarajeshwarinagar created a Facebook page to discuss strategies and install CCTVs cameras to nab a voyeur.
What psychiatrists say
It is curiosity and sexual gratification that a person seeks despite knowing it is wrong, say Bengaluru- based psychiatrists.
Dr Vijaykumar Harbishettar said voyeurs should be treated by mental health authorities as it involves behavioural issues. Recalling two cases he handled in the past three months, he said: “The patients admitted that what they had done was illegal, but it is impulsive gratification which made them watch someone undress. They may be suffering from underlying depression. It’s a psychiatric issue that needs to addressed, not hidden.” Voyeurs are also not gender-specific. “It’s a form of paraphilia which is seen among women too,” says Dr SS Vasan, andrologist, Manipal hospital. “Secret observation is the hallmark of voyeurism and parents must observe an adolescent child’s behaviour at home,” he added.
Dr Mahesh R Gowda, psychiatrist and director, Spandana Health Care, said the youngest person he treated for voyeuristic behaviour was a 9-year-old boy. “In many cases, the problem is first seen at home. Young boys in the 9-15 age group are the worst affected. The online content they see on smartphones excites them. They don’t admit to it and there’s a sense of guilt and denial,” said Dr Mahesh.
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