A diagnosis is made via a medical professional’s evaluation, based on specific criteria.
Medical professionals diagnose voyeuristic disorder when:
- Individuals have been repeatedly and intensely aroused by observing an unsuspecting person who is naked, undressing, or engaging in sexual activity, and the arousal has been expressed in fantasies, urges, or behaviours.
- As a result, individuals feel greatly distressed or become less able to function well (at work, in their family, or in interactions with friends), or they have acted on their urges with an individual who has not consented.
- They have had the condition for six (6) months or more.
Mental Health Matters 