Campus Voyeurism: How can we feel safer? - students
Incidents of voyeurism on campus have come into the spotlight recently, in the wake of the National University of Singapore (NUS) saga after undergraduate Monica Baey spoke publicly about her traumatic experience as a victim.
Universities in Singapore have released statements to say that they are taking the issue very seriously and have implemented measures to tackle it.
In Parliament and on social media, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung stressed the need for firm measures by universities to improve campus safety and support for victims of sexual misconduct.
In this three-part series on campus voyeurism, Yahoo News Singapore looks at the issue from the perspective of undergraduates who are studying in Singapore.
By Linette Heng
SINGAPORE — Outside both the men’s and women’s toilets at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea, signs in both English and Korean state: “No hidden cameras”.
Security cameras are trained at washroom doors. Dormitories are also segregated by sex with strict rules that prevent the opposite sex from entering.
“Voyeurism is a very serious problem in Korea and the school does a lot to protect its students,” said Nanyang Technological University (NTU) communications undergraduate Melissa Lee, who was on a five-month exchange programme at Sogang last year.
Ultra-wired South Korea has been battling a growing epidemic of voyeurism or “molka” – spy-cam videos taken in public places. According to a recent report, spy-cam crimes reported to the South Korean police have surged from around 2,400 in 2012 to nearly 6,500 in 2017, with the actual figure thought to be much higher. Both male and female university students have fallen victim, and universities have stepped up their responses.
Lee, now a third-year student who has lived in two different hostels while studying at NTU, says security here has been considerably more lax, even if common areas have closed-circuit cameras and security guards are on patrol between 9pm and 9am.
The guards are usually more concerned about noise than safety, she said, although she concedes that that might now change. “I think that schools here should do more in terms of security and taking precautionary measures,” she said.
In Parliament last week, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung also pointed to the need for “concrete steps to improve campus safety”.
Over the last three years, a total of 56 cases of sexual misconduct have been handled by the six autonomous universities, with 37 reported to the police, said Ong. Two-thirds of the cases were related to voyeurism. NUS and NTU, which have the largest number of students living on campus, had the highest number of cases - 25 and 20, respectively.
Since Monica Baey went public last month with what happened to her at NUS, at least four new cases have been reported at NTU and NUS. In the most recent case, an NUS student was caught on a newly-installed closed-circuit camera, and charged on Monday (13 May).
Universities say they are stepping up on security. Late last week, NTU put out a list of FAQs on Harassment, Sexual Misconduct and Residential Hall Security, outlining its “zero tolerance policy”, including towards voyeurism and sexual misconduct, and enhanced security measures. These include more patrols and checking that the doors of women’s toilets are securely locked.
NTU is also “reviewing the campus’ security needs, including installing more CCTVs in suitable locations”.
Meanwhile, the NUS campus security office issued a circular on Saturday documenting changes that had been or are being made, including enhanced CCTV systems, secure shower cubicles, restroom locks, and increased patrols. It also called for students to “remain vigilant”.
Arifah Begum, a second year business student who stays at the College of Alice and Peter Tan at NUS, says there has been a visible - and welcomed - difference in security presence.
“I feel that NUS is on the right track with the preventive measures. But I think educating students on proper conduct will also go a long way,” she said, adding that students should also call out other students when they threaten the safety of others, even if they are friends.
Appeals have also gone out to students at some universities to ensure that they are not inadvertently compromising the very measures that are in place to protect them.
Late last month, students at the Singapore University of Technology and Design were reminded not to jam self-locking toilet doors and forgo security for the sake of easier access to toilets.
Biomedical engineering student Rengarajan Hamsawardhini, a recent resident of NUS’ Prince George's Park Residences, said the jamming of locks continued after the Monica Baey incident surfaced.
It was only after the residence management team threatened “demerit points” that the practice stopped, she said. “It was like they wouldn’t accept the reality that it could happen to any one of us.”
Read the first story in this series here: Campus Voyeurism: I went public to get the wheels turning - molest victim
And the third: Campus Voyeurism: Better reporting, support systems needed - students
Related stories:
NUS Review Committee proposes tougher sanctions for sexual misconduct offences
Over 300 NUS students issue letter to criticise town hall meeting on sexual harassment
