Why are women the usual victims to voyeurism
Summary
Between July and November 2022, Javier Lee Kah Chuan, 21, secretly filmed 14 victims (including women showering and using toilets) at several locations such as Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, a bar in Prinsep Street, a coffee shop in Jurong and the Body Fit Training gym in Farrer Park where he worked. On Sept 10, 2025, he pleaded guilty to six charges of voyeurism, with eight more to be considered during sentencing, and the court has called for a probation suitability report ahead of his October hearing. Lee’s actions came to light after one victim at the gym reported seeing a phone appear in and out of her cubicle, and he was later caught by another victim at Taman Jurong Park. The gym has since stated that Lee is no longer employed there under its new management. Those convicted of voyeurism in Singapore face up to two years’ jail, a fine, caning, or a combination of these penalties.
Concepts
The objectification of women
This case highlights the sobering reality that legal safeguards and norms promoting women’s empowerment have not eradicated deep-rooted patterns of objectification. Even in a modern, tightly regulated society, the victims were reduced to targets of voyeuristic gratification, stripped of dignity and privacy. Such acts deny them their intrinsic value as human beings and expose them to harms that disproportionately affect women, from humiliation and reputational damage to fear of public spaces. In essence, entrenched attitudes continue to objectify women’s bodies, treating them as mere objects for visual consumption or gratification rather than as full persons with dignity and agency. True equality therefore requires not only laws, but also sustained cultural change and education to shift these attitudes.