Immersed in voyeurism, a phenomenon that has multiplied and whose first target is women

It’s a well-known term for women, but it’s under-documented. Only recognized as a criminal offense in France since 2018, punishable by a year in prison and a €15,000 fine, voyeurism is a practice as old as time. A deviant and now illegal sexual disorder, it consists of watching, spying, watching a person without their consent. Over the years, the fantasy of “seeing without being seen” has woven its web around the world, changing significantly with the emergence of new technologies.

From keyhole peeping to taking stolen pictures using hidden cameras, the phenomenon has multiplied, worsened by the emergence of online sharing groups and other private forums. Unsurprisingly, women are the main targets. But who are these “voyeurs”, how do they act and what do they risk? In his work, Voyeur!, an investigation into a social phenomenon (Ed. Robert Laffont)Published on April 11, journalist Clémentine Thiebault investigated the issue, studying the press, archives and law to better understand the scope of the subject and all its gray areas. Interview:

Madame Figaro: Your investigation starts with the story of Jodi, who was the victim of voyeurism in a hotel in Pau in 2001. What shocked you about this story?
Clementine Thiebaud. The story was told to me in 2015, fourteen years after the fact, during a dinner party. Jodie, a troupe singer who was then staying at a city hotel for a month of performances, was spied in the bathroom of her room. A small hole was opened in the wall by the manager of the facility. For the first time, the image of the voyeur hiding behind her partition became real and cruel, at least in my eyes. It took me out of the idea of ​​a certain mythology about the subject, something more to do with collective imagination than reality.

Never come across a story like this before?
It is strange, no, although it is a much more common phenomenon than we think, obviously. In fact, I kept this anecdote in mind from the beginning until the book was published. Motel voyeurs By Gay Talese, 2016 (The reporter’s work focuses on the case of Gerard Fuss, a motel owner in the United States who spied on all of his customers for several decades; the story became the subject of a 2017 Netflix documentary.editor’s note). At the time, we were in the middle of the Me Too era, thinking a lot about the concept of consent. Publishing this book was a blast for me.

Male fantasy

You start your work with the definition provided by the Chat GPT. Why this choice?
Reading the definition of this artificial intelligence, fed therefore by our own data, we read that it is about “deviant, illegal behavior, (…) that includes spying on people without their consent, which can cause emotional and psychological distress of the victims. Voyeurism is actually a compulsion, an act that is done almost regardless of the subject. This reaction is very expressive for the way of perception of this phenomenon in the society. We hide behind a legalistic, almost medical definition, never addressing the root of the problem. Voyeurism is an extremely sexist sexual disorder that is considered one of the most common types of violence against women.

Are you saying it’s just a male sexual fantasy?
When we do our research, the numbers are alarming. 99% of voyeurs are male, while 90 to 95% of victims are female. For what ? Because men and women have never been equal when it comes to exploring their sexuality and fulfilling their desires. Men are less inhibited, there’s a form of inductive possibility where women don’t even think about it because it’s not in their education to look at men’s bodies without their consent. The objectification of women’s bodies, essentially turning them into objects of desire, stems from a very patriarchal society. Voyeurism is most perverse because we dehumanize bodies because there is no confrontation or contradiction between subject and object. The voyeur can project all his fantasies of dominance into the image he steals.

What are the different types of voyeurs?
Voyeurism comes in many forms. Everyone has dreamed of being a little mouse to listen and see what is happening next door. But there is fantasy and acting. Here again, there is a voyeur who will be satisfied with looking behind the door, who will take pictures under the skirts of girls, in customized rooms, restaurant toilets, apartments…

Although it is considered a crime, voyeurism has always permeated the erotic imagination, especially in the art world. Does this indicate some hypocrisy?
When I wanted to investigate my voyeur from Pau, I looked through all the city’s departmental archives, nothing was listed there. No complaints, no press articles, absolutely nothing. On the contrary, art is full of works on the subject, such as Window to the yard, by Alfred Hitchcock or alleged “voyeur” artists. But I’m especially thinking of the photographer Miroslav Tiči, who made a cane equipped with a hidden camera to capture women’s bodies on the street, see under skirts, under the guise of making art. Again, in cinema, in photography, in painting, only men are fascinated by the subject.

In the chapter “Dirty History” you mention a film by Jean Eustace that was released in 1977. The director gives voice to the voyeur, who very casually narrates his experience in front of the camera…
Watching this film was one of the most difficult parts of this investigation, the moment of true satiety. There’s something blatant about men justifying gayism. This person describes going to a cafe in the 15th arrondissement of Paris where there was a hole in the women’s toilets. Although the practice of voyeurism is very solitary, voyeurs know each other, ambush each other, pass good tips. The regulars there knew about the existence of this hole and went to look at it all day long, always with the same reasoning. “It’s okay, I didn’t do anything wrong, I didn’t touch it.” The concept of consent is completely avoided because there is no physical contact, so there is no aggression. This is one of the components of the theme, as voyeurism has long been a legal blind spot in this regard.

A crime that is never mentioned

How exactly is it framed?
It has been recognized as a criminal offense only since 2018. And the law does not directly name it. We talk about invasion of privacy or even intimacy, but never “voyeurism”.

Why is that?
Until now it was a kind of thoughtlessness in society, too unbearable, too immaterial to think about collectively. So, there are very few complaints in this type of cases. The victim will not go to the police without “physical aggression”. Voyeurism, on the other hand, will count against other offenses as well. If there is rape and the attacker commits acts of voyeurism, it will add to the conviction. This is a problem when we know that 20% of voyeurs progress to more serious activities over time.

How much has the Internet revolutionized practice?
Where once a voyeur had to peer painfully through a keyhole, the Internet has given access to a variety of new tools sold at unbeatable prices on sites like Amazon. Today, the voyeur is no longer behind a wall, but goes into privacy, thanks to an alarm clock or fake electric cables, spy pens… If voyeurism remains an individual exercise, the advent of social networks, however, gives the opportunity to expand their community. There were always places like the cafe in the 15th arrondissement where those who were into it could identify with each other and almost come together. Scale has evolved with the Internet. Already there are not fifteen, but hundreds, even thousands of “viewers”. Moreover, it is these new technologies that have finally made it possible to legally regulate the practice. Using videos makes it possible to legislate better on this because there is now evidence. It has become more tangible for justice and victims.

2017 was a peak year in the United States, especially with the emergence of the rental platform Airbnb…
Airbnb has created a travel space that didn’t exist before. Combined with the miniaturization of cameras, this has created new possibilities for voyeurs. And the cases have really increased. In France in 2017, there were almost 857 such intrusions, or 857 cases where people were filmed without their knowledge during their stay. Pretty scary when you think about it.

You finally dedicate a chapter to it molka a form of voyeurism practiced in South Korea. What makes it different from others?
THE: molka is the high point of voyeurism, which brings together all the factors: sexism, sexual violence, the distribution of images, in an exponential way. South Korea is an extremely patriarchal and at the same time extremely connected society. There, women are filmed without their knowledge in their privacy and put out to pasture on the internet. The phenomenon became so widespread that we eventually gave it a name.

*The Voyeur, An Investigation into a Social Phenomenon, by Clementine Thiebault, published by Robert Laffont on April 11, 2024