Video voyeurism

The local media seems to have momentarily diverted attention from the looming threat of Influenza A (H1N1), the pending ethics trial of Senator Manny Villar, the imminent questioning of Senator Panfilo Lacson on the murders of publicist Bobby Dacer and his driver, even the landmark 2010 poll automation project — and has instead trained its sights on the Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili sex video scandal. It appears that celebrity scandals beat all other issues whenever luminaries are involved in allegations of wrongdoing, disgrace, or morally outrageous behavior.

There is no denying that sex and crime are the key ingredients to a hit story. Combine these elements with a cast of already notorious characters and you are sure to captivate readers, viewers, listeners and (in this digital age) web surfers. Disgraced movie stars and shamed television personalities have been making headlines (and selling stories) with their bedroom indiscretions since the time silent screen star Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle allegedly raped a young starlet.

Why the fascination with celebrity humiliation and gossip? One film producer surmised that in order to confirm its own sense of virtue, the public does not mind becoming peeping toms. Oftentimes, he observed, people relish scandals because when they pass judgment on the deviant, the public restores confidence in its own standards of morality. Another person concluded that one man’s tragedy is simply another one’s entertainment.

If any of these reflections are true, then it is high time we, as a nation, find other ways to affirm or entertain ourselves. It seems the allure of making millions out of a scandal-hungry public motivates men to publicize in the worst possible way, videos of very personal and intimate acts. It was reportedly a shrewd young businessman who essentially ruined the lives of Hayden Kho and movie star Katrina Halili by allegedly uploading very private recordings on to the internet in order to make a quick buck. This person is said to own a chain of shops engaged in the computer and optical media trade, one of which is located near the distribution centers of pirated movies and illegally produced music and entertainment materials in downtown Manila.

Granted, Kho knowingly taped his trysts with the hapless Ms. Halili, but the transfer of the videos to the internet, their reproduction in optical media form, distribution and sale to the public were perpetrated by another man without the knowledge or consent of either Kho or, more tragically, Ms. Halili. In this sense therefore, it would appear that both of them became victims of their own indiscretion.

One positive result of this contentious issue is the filling of a Senate bill, which seeks to prohibit and penalize the recording, sharing, showing or exhibition of private acts without the consent of the persons involved.

Too many young women like Katrina have been victims of men who misuse the advances in information and communication technology. While the bill remains to be passed, thankfully there already exists RA 9262. Under this law which protects women and children, guilty parties may be penalized for up to 12 years in prison and slapped a P300,000 fine for the mental and emotional suffering resulting from the sale of audio-video materials showing the woman in a sexual pose or act. 

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To suppress the proliferation of secretly produced sex videos, the Nacionalista Party (NP) led by Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. is pushing for the swift passage of new legislation that would define and penalize the crime of video voyeurism.

“A specific law against video voyeurism would be helpful in reinforcing existing privacy and anti-obscenity laws as well as special statutes protecting women and children from abuse and exploitation,” said NP spokesperson and former Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla.

Remulla stressed the need for Congress to ensure that the country’s penal laws “are highly responsive to rapid advances in communications technology, including the explosion in broadband Internet access and the affordability of mobile telephone videos and miniature cameras.”

In the Senate, the committee on justice and human rights has already endorsed for floor debate and approval a bill seeking to criminalize video and photo voyeurism.

Introduced by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the bill defines video and photo voyeurism as the act of capturing an image of the private area of a person without her or his consent, and knowingly performing the act under circumstances in which the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

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