SEOUL – Thousands of South Korean women gathered in Seoul on Saturday todemand stronger government action to fight the spread of intimate photosand footage taken by hidden cameras, which they say has women living inconstant anxiety and distress.
Police said about 18,000 took part in the all-women protest, withdemonstrators calling for stronger investigations and punishments againstmale offenders who photograph or film women without their knowledge andpost the material online.
Most of the protesters covered their faces with baseball caps, sunglassesand surgical masks as instructed by organizers, who intended to make astatement against an environment in which women constantly worry about tinycameras hidden in bathrooms or being filmed from under their skirts atsubway stations.
However, there was also criticism about the organizers’ tight control overthe protests and the decision to block the participation of those whoweren’t “biologically women.” Protesters, many of them wearing red T-shirtswith signs that read “Angry women will change the world,” roared in supportas two women volunteered to have their heads shaved on a stage.
“Let’s fight until the last seed of illicit filming dies!” one protestershouted into the microphone while another shaved off her hair. “Here’s mymessage to men: I am not an object of our sexual desires! I am a first-ratecitizen, just like you!” South Korea has struggled over the years to dealwith perpetrators who use tiny cameras or smartphones to film under women’sclothing to see their genitals or underwear.
The footage is heavily circulated on illicit porn sites, such as Soranet,which had more than a million users before police managed to shut it downin 2016. An unknown number of similar sites are still running.
Since 2004, South Korea has required smartphones to make large shuttersounds when taking pictures and videos to prevent such crimes. However,phone cameras can be silenced through apps and there’s also an abundance ofminiaturised cameras that can be hidden inside bags, shoes and toilets orsmall holes drilled into bathroom walls and doors.
Amid rising criticism, South Korean president Moon Jae-in on Tuesdayordered government officials to explore tougher punishments forhidden-camera crimes and also ensure that the perpetrators’ actions areimmediately notified to employers.
“We must make sure that the offenders suffer greater damage than the damagethey inflict,” Moon said in a Cabinet meeting.
The national government plans to spend 5 billion won (USD 4.5 million) toequip local governments with more camera detecting equipment and strengtheninspections of bathrooms in public spaces and private buildings. There arealso plans to widen inspections to elementary, middle and high schools.
Under South Korean law, creating intimate sexual images without consent ispunishable by a prison term of up to five years or a fine of up to 10million won (USD 8,900). Distributing such images for the purpose of profitis punishable by up to seven years in prison or a 30 million won (USD27,000) fine.
Saturday’s gathering in Seoul was a follow-up to large protests by women inMay and June over the proliferation of hidden-camera images as pornographicmaterial.
The protests were sparked by the arrest of a 25-year-old woman in May whowas found to have secretly taken a photo of a male colleague while he posednude for university art students and uploaded it online.
The swift investigation struck a nerve among many women who questionedwhether the police care about the hidden-camera issue only in rareinstances in which the victim is male.
Protesters pointed to countless cases involving female victims that wereclosed because the police were unable to track down the perpetrators orporn sites based on foreign servers. The National Police Agency had deniedthat officers treat cases involving male victims more seriously.