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91% of Singaporeans say young men need to be educated about sexual misconduct: survey

Almost nine out of 10 Singaporeans strongly or mildly agree that sexual harassment had become a bigger problem at schools, including universities, because of smartphones. (Getty Images file photo)
Almost nine out of 10 Singaporeans strongly or mildly agree that sexual harassment had become a bigger problem at schools, including universities, because of smartphones. (Getty Images file photo)

SINGAPORE — Over nine out of ten Singaporeans (91 per cent) agree that more needs to be done to educate young men about the harm and consequences of sexual misconduct, a survey commissioned by Yahoo News Singapore found.

Almost nine out of 10 Singaporeans (89 per cent) also strongly or mildly agree that sexual harassment is becoming a bigger problem at schools, including universities, because of smartphones.

The online survey, conducted by market research consultancy Blackbox Research, polled 895 Singaporeans in May, a month after a public furore was sparked by revelations over the handling of a high-profile Peeping Tom case.

(SOURCE: Yahoo News Singapore)
(SOURCE: Yahoo News Singapore)

The incident involved Nicholas Lim, a male National University of Singapore (NUS) student who was caught filming fellow undergraduate Monica Baey, 23, in a hostel toilet at NUS in November last year.

The NUS Board of Discipline had ordered Lim, also 23, to be suspended for one semester. He was banned from entering into hostel premises on campus, had to undergo counselling sessions and ordered to write a letter of apology to Baey.

Lim, who was a first-time offender, was also given a 12-month conditional warning by the police.

The incident spurred the university to implement tougher penalties on sexual misconduct from Thursday (13 June), following its full acceptance of recommendations by a review committee set up in the wake of the incident.

(SOURCE: NUS)
(SOURCE: NUS)

Among the new penalties are a minimum one-year suspension for serious sexual misconduct offences and immediate expulsion for more severe offences.

Other new measures introduced include the installation of new restroom locks, 300 additional CCTV cameras, and more roving security patrols for hostels by this month, as well as a Victim Care Unit in end-August.

A compulsory module on “Respect and Consent Culture” will also be introduced for all students and staff in August.

(INFOGRAPHIC: NUS)
(INFOGRAPHIC: NUS)

Over nine out of 10 respondents (92 cent), however, felt that it should be up to the Ministry of Education (MOE), not the schools, to set consistent guidelines on sexual misconduct across all educational institutions.

About 93 per cent of them agree that local universities should set up care units for victims of sexual misconduct while 94 per cent think that they should increase security on campus and in personal facilities, such as toilets and changing rooms.

Roughly 66 per cent of 56 sexual misconduct cases handled by the six autonomous universities in Singapore over the past three years were related to voyeurism.

In Parliament last month, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung had called for all autonomous universities, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education to review their disciplinary frameworks.

Objectives of deterrence and redress for victims of sexual misconduct need to be better calibrated against the rehabilitation of an offender, Ong had stressed.

“Balancing these objectives is important for an education institution, but it should not end up with penalties that are too lenient and have too soft a bite,” he said.

Stiffer punishments for perpetrators of voyeuristic offences were also passed as part of sweeping changes to the Penal Code after the parliamentary debate in May.

For instance, a person found guilty of taking an up-skirt photo or video could face a sentence of up to two years’ jail, along with a fine and caning.

Previously, perpetrators of such recordings face up to one year’s jail and a fine for insulting the modesty of a person.

(SOURCE: Yahoo News Singapore)
(SOURCE: Yahoo News Singapore)

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