Controversy Over University Professor's Remark "Pack Condoms for Husband on Business Trip"... Serious Sexist Remarks on Campus

"Can have relations when husband is on a business trip," "Bringing condoms is wisdom..."
Sexual violence on campus... 73 cases in 2015 → 115 cases in 2018
Experts say "A social atmosphere where issues can be raised must be created"

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[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and Juhee Kang] A professor A at a private university in Busan has sparked controversy by making remarks during class that seemed to justify prostitution and sexual bribery, such as saying "If a husband goes on a business trip abroad, you must prepare condoms for him."

Although the importance of gender sensitivity is being emphasized, incidents of sexual violence such as sexual discrimination and sexual harassment within universities have been increasing. In particular, as most perpetrators have been confirmed to be professors, 'power-based sexual violence' within schools is being pointed out as a social problem.

Experts stressed the need to create a social atmosphere where issues related to sexual violence can be raised.

According to a private university in Busan on the 24th, at the end of last month, Professor A made problematic remarks during an online elective lecture in a certain department while explaining content related to sexually transmitted diseases, saying, "When men go on overseas business trips while working, they often receive entertainment or have relations with prostitutes, and in such cases, they must use condoms."

Professor A also said, "Since female students are adults now, if their husbands go on overseas business trips after marriage, they must prepare condoms for them. It is something that can frequently happen when they drink with people abroad regardless of their own will," and "You have to be a wife who has wisdom and can say such things," seemingly justifying prostitution and sexual bribery.

Students who took the lecture pointed out that Professor A's remarks were inappropriate, and the school deleted the online lecture. It was reported that about 80% of the approximately 50 students who took the lecture were female students.

When controversy arose, Professor A explained, "I mentioned cases where one could be exposed to sexually transmitted infections to emphasize prevention and symptoms of STDs to students, which led to such remarks," adding, "The intention was to emphasize that condoms should be carried for prevention."

Professor A continued, "I have been giving the same lecture for five years without any issues raised until now, so it is unfortunate that this has become controversial regardless of my intention," and added, "If there are students who feel uncomfortable, I will refrain from making related remarks in the future."

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There have been past incidents where professors made sexually harassing or sexually discriminatory remarks to students within universities. In May, a professor emeritus B at a private university in Seoul caused public outrage after it was revealed that during class, he assigned students to read sexually discriminatory writings comparing men to 'watering cans' and women to 'flowers,' saying, "Watering the flowers at home is the most important," and "If they wither and dry up, it's a loss for men."

The seriousness of sexual violence in universities is also reflected in statistics. According to the Ministry of Education's data from January, sexual violence incidents in higher education institutions (universities and colleges) increased by 57.5%, from 73 cases in 2015 to 115 cases in 2018. In terms of victim types, sexual harassment (65 cases) was the most frequent in 2018, followed by sexual assault (46 cases) and rape (4 cases). Notably, among the 115 sexual violence cases in 2018, 85 cases (73.9%) involved professors as perpetrators.

Upon learning these facts, citizens have expressed outrage, questioning how such remarks can come from educational settings.

One netizen commented, "It's shocking that someone who calls this 'a wife's wisdom' during class is a professor," adding, "It's even more shocking that they said, 'If students feel uncomfortable, I will stop making such remarks,' just because no issues were raised until now. They have no awareness of why this is a problem at all."

However, it has been confirmed that the participation rate in sexual violence prevention education among university and college senior officials such as associate professors, deans, directors, and vice presidents is significantly lower than that of other public office groups. In 2018, the participation rate of senior officials in universities was 75.1%, compared to 90.7% for senior officials in government agencies and 95.1% for senior officials in public-related organizations.

Since sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual violence frequently occur within schools and the importance of gender sensitivity is being socially emphasized, there are calls for strengthened measures to prevent these issues.

Experts emphasized the need to create a social atmosphere where issues related to sexual violence can be raised.

Attorney Eunui Lee (Eunui Lee Law Office) stated, "This constitutes verbal sexual harassment as it can cause sexual shame to the students who took the lecture," adding, "Prostitution is a crime, and it is illegal for a married person to have relations with others. The remark that 'a wife must prepare condoms for her husband's prostitution' already presupposes illegality and crime."

She continued, "Making such remarks in an online lecture knowing that an unspecified number of people can watch it shows a lack of awareness about the problem with the statement," and emphasized, "Just because no issues were raised for five years does not mean it is not a problem. Society is constantly changing, and many things that were not considered problematic in the past have become issues. If no issues were raised in the past five years, we should think about improving the social atmosphere that prevented raising such issues."