Is looking at women or girls considered fornication, and is it of the same degree as full fornication?

Looking at a non-mahram woman with lust is forbidden (haram). It has been called zina (fornication/adultery) in the hadith: "The two eyes commit zina, and their zina is looking." This is not like the zina that necessitates a prescribed punishment (hadd), but it is a precursor to it and incurs Allah's wrath if a person intentionally persists in it. Repentance and seeking forgiveness are obligatory for it.