VOYEURISM: CRIMINAL AND CRIMINOLOGICAL ASPECTS

One of the types of paraphilia is voyeurism, i.e., secretly spying on the intimate actions of other people. From the point of view of medicine, voyeurism is recognized as a disorder of sexual preference, in art it has found expression in the paintings of famous masters, but from the point of view of morality it remains in the plane of religiously conditioned prohibitions, and psychologists say that the considered form of sexual behavior is dangerous not only for the psyche of the actor, but also for the victim. Within the framework of the presented research, the authors offer an analysis of the legal reaction of foreign countries to this form of sexual deviation, consider the types of punishments, and also present a criminological portrait of voyeurism. In the legal systems of foreign countries (Great Britain, Belgium, Singapore), voyeurism is recognized as a sexual crime; in the United States, Germany, New Zealand, and some states of Australia, the act in question is recognized as a crime that violates the «right to privacy». Separate statistical data on the specified acts in separate countries (where such counting is conducted) are presented, the reasons of growth of such encroachments and ways of their implementation are defined. In Russia, such acts receive a criminal-legal assessment on the grounds of Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which should be considered as a «legislative compromise», since in the actions of a voyeur, the main motive is sexual, and violation of privacy is not the goal. Some statistical data indicate an increase in such attacks in the world, but in Russia, the paraphilia in question is mainly the subject of research by psychologists, sexologists, and journalists. No serious criminological or criminal law studies were conducted. The presented research is the first attempt to study this phenomenon in the legal aspect, suggesting the beginning of a scientific discussion. It is concluded that in the conditions of digitalization of society, voyeurism as a form of sexual deviation will continue to develop, so it is necessary to adopt a set of legal measures aimed at protecting the rights of victims.