Sadly, voyeurism and perversion has now gone beyond the public spaces, changing rooms, hotel rooms and public toilets in the city…
The perpetrators have now even entered the hospitals and homes with their smartphones and keyhole cameras. Sexual abuse isn’t only about physical contact and demanding intimacy.
Shooting videos/pictures without consent, peeping into someone’s personal space, passing vulgar and derogatory remarks, indecent gestures or any act/s with an intent to outrage a woman’s modesty is also deemed to be harassment.
Pune365 spoke to several citizens on this highly condemnable spate of incidents involving voyeurism in the city.
“Looking out for small concealed cameras in the changing rooms is a ritual for me each time I get into one,” says Shreya Jakhanwal, a fashion designer.
“How easy is it to spot a camera that is pea-sized and hidden from your line of vision?
Technology has made things easier for these creeps by inventing such equipment which can be used for all this. People can really go the extra mile to satiate their sexual desires.
It is hence best to avoid using the changing rooms in small shops or the odd mall. Bigger brand outlets and popular shopping malls would be more cautious about their image and hence have better safety precautions in place,” suggests Shreya.
For the record, Section 354 (C) of the Indian Penal Code provides imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or fine, or with both for voyeurism.
Section 354 (C) (Voyeurism): Any man who watches, or captures the image of a woman engaging in a private act in circumstances where she would usually have the expectation of not being observed either by the perpetrator or by any other person at the behest of the perpetrator or disseminates such image shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than one year, but which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine, and be punished on a second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than three years, but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine. (Source: www.kaanoon.com)
Zain Khan, a medical practitioner shares how the debauchees stoop to any extent, irrespective of the place and its sanctity…
“What is a person supposed to do when acts of voyeurism and sexual gratification takes place in a hospital like the one that was reported recently?
“Women going for an MRI or CT scan or getting admitted for any procedure have to change into the hospital robes. Who would have thought that they also need to check for such creeps before they get themselves attended to?
As a result of all these issues, even doctors face the brunt at times with patients who think that they are crossing the line while examining them. But, how is the doctor supposed to treat without checking the patient?
Yes, there are bad fish in the ocean, yet, one needs to trust a person if he/she is an expert. These nasty incidents make it even difficult for patients to trust medical professionals,” he adds.
“It is the mentality that needs to change and one cannot always blame unemployment or just the lack of education that gets people to indulge in perversion.
The more knowledge they have, the more planned they get in executing such acts,” opines Priyanka Naik, an image consultant.
“Be it a father of a 10-year-old girl, a close relative, your boss, a rickshaw driver, an engineer or so, you cannot actually gauge their intentions.
The best anyone can do is to be aware of the environment and the company of the people they are in. Your intuition will always tell you when you feel uncomfortable and warn you that this is a situation you need to get out of.
You cannot always check a mirror of look for hidden cameras everywhere, but being observant will help,” Priyanka adds.
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#All views expressed are those of the individual respondent’s and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.
Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
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