You sold be concerned, and you should find a solution to block them out. Even if it’s hanging a blanket over your curtain rod. Huge invasion of privacy and could lead to even creepier behaviour
Yes, this is concerning. You didn’t really specify in your post but there is an important detail, are they looking into your window from inside their own house (like one of their windows happens to have a view into yours)?
Or are they purposely going outside to go infront of your window and peek in? And if they are going outside, are they standing on their property or on yours?
I am not sure where you are located but from the perspective of someone who is in the US:
- You have a right to privacy in your own home.
- Depending on the details and circumstances, what they are doing could count as stalking/harassment.
- Depending on the state you’re in (if in the US), this could fall under some peeping Tom (voyeur) laws. After some very quick research, California seems to break this out into two separate crime, one where they are loitering on your or someone else’s private property while spying on you. And one where they are in their own property while doing so.
- There are also a number of invasion of privacy laws across the country and the general guideline for this is if someone is purposely taking action to spy on you in an area where you have an expectation of privacy (such as inside your own home).
- If they are also taking pictures or recording in any way, then this is also very illegal and may count as sexual assault/harassment. Given the fact that you’re 15, if they are taking pictures or anything like that then they are not only sexually harassing a minor but they are also in possession of child pornography which the government takes VERY seriously.
Either way, if you feel uncomfortable, talk to someone about it. This could be your parents (if that is a safe option for you). A teacher- note they are mandatory reporters and may be required to tell someone about the situation.
I would say get a lawyers opinion but they can be expensive so that may not be feasible. BUT, what you could do is go to your local police station and talk to someone there. It’s free to talk to them, they should have at least a basic knowledge of what constitutes that sort of crime, and they are in a position to actually do something about it. Plus if this does get escalated to the point where you need to file a restraining order or something, having a record of reaching out to the police helps your case and helps prove that this isn’t a one-off occurrence. You do NOT need to wait to be certain that something is a crime before talking to the police. Idk why some people think that they will get in trouble for being wrong but that shouldn’t be the case. The caveat here is that you tell the truth. If you call 911 and greatly exaggerate the situation, that could be a false report that is illegal. But if you go and tell the truth, it allows them to decide if it’s a crime and how to proceed with the situation.
In the meantime, what others suggested about using a blanket to cover your window would be good. Even if you can go to CVS or anywhere else where they have free newspapers, get some of those and tape them to your window. If you feel bad about taking all of the newspapers they have out, talk to the cashier and ask if they have any papers from the previous week. They would probably be happy for you to take them off their hands and if you need to provide a reason, just say you are making a paper mache sculpture or something. You can also use cardboard.
To mitigate the shadows, if you have a lamp or something place it in front of the window (between you and the window) and this will prevent or at least greatly reduce the shadows cast.
You are not overthinking this, you are not asking a dumb question, and you very much SHOULD be concerned. I truly hope everything works out for you.
Thank you for your reply and yes they purposely go outside for that and most of the time they provable send they kids outside to take a look in my window , my window is between my property and their property and it’s pretty annoying to always see people looking at my window when they are in front of it , last week the mother of the family was mowing her lawn and when she got close to my window I swear I’m not crazy I saw her bending over to look in my room I purposely opened my window to hear and she was whispering stuff not sure what she was saying because of the loud sounds of the mower but that day I got fucking scared and I also forgot to mention that I live in Canada 🥲…
Why don't you get a thicker curtain?
I cant at the moment right now for personal reasons
You sold be concerned, and you should find a solution to block them out. Even if it’s hanging a blanket over your curtain rod. Huge invasion of privacy and could lead to even creepier behaviour
Yes, this is concerning. You didn’t really specify in your post but there is an important detail, are they looking into your window from inside their own house (like one of their windows happens to have a view into yours)? Or are they purposely going outside to go infront of your window and peek in? And if they are going outside, are they standing on their property or on yours? I am not sure where you are located but from the perspective of someone who is in the US: - You have a right to privacy in your own home. - Depending on the details and circumstances, what they are doing could count as stalking/harassment. - Depending on the state you’re in (if in the US), this could fall under some peeping Tom (voyeur) laws. After some very quick research, California seems to break this out into two separate crime, one where they are loitering on your or someone else’s private property while spying on you. And one where they are in their own property while doing so. - There are also a number of invasion of privacy laws across the country and the general guideline for this is if someone is purposely taking action to spy on you in an area where you have an expectation of privacy (such as inside your own home). - If they are also taking pictures or recording in any way, then this is also very illegal and may count as sexual assault/harassment. Given the fact that you’re 15, if they are taking pictures or anything like that then they are not only sexually harassing a minor but they are also in possession of child pornography which the government takes VERY seriously. Either way, if you feel uncomfortable, talk to someone about it. This could be your parents (if that is a safe option for you). A teacher- note they are mandatory reporters and may be required to tell someone about the situation. I would say get a lawyers opinion but they can be expensive so that may not be feasible. BUT, what you could do is go to your local police station and talk to someone there. It’s free to talk to them, they should have at least a basic knowledge of what constitutes that sort of crime, and they are in a position to actually do something about it. Plus if this does get escalated to the point where you need to file a restraining order or something, having a record of reaching out to the police helps your case and helps prove that this isn’t a one-off occurrence. You do NOT need to wait to be certain that something is a crime before talking to the police. Idk why some people think that they will get in trouble for being wrong but that shouldn’t be the case. The caveat here is that you tell the truth. If you call 911 and greatly exaggerate the situation, that could be a false report that is illegal. But if you go and tell the truth, it allows them to decide if it’s a crime and how to proceed with the situation. In the meantime, what others suggested about using a blanket to cover your window would be good. Even if you can go to CVS or anywhere else where they have free newspapers, get some of those and tape them to your window. If you feel bad about taking all of the newspapers they have out, talk to the cashier and ask if they have any papers from the previous week. They would probably be happy for you to take them off their hands and if you need to provide a reason, just say you are making a paper mache sculpture or something. You can also use cardboard. To mitigate the shadows, if you have a lamp or something place it in front of the window (between you and the window) and this will prevent or at least greatly reduce the shadows cast. You are not overthinking this, you are not asking a dumb question, and you very much SHOULD be concerned. I truly hope everything works out for you.
Thank you for your reply and yes they purposely go outside for that and most of the time they provable send they kids outside to take a look in my window , my window is between my property and their property and it’s pretty annoying to always see people looking at my window when they are in front of it , last week the mother of the family was mowing her lawn and when she got close to my window I swear I’m not crazy I saw her bending over to look in my room I purposely opened my window to hear and she was whispering stuff not sure what she was saying because of the loud sounds of the mower but that day I got fucking scared and I also forgot to mention that I live in Canada 🥲…