Sexual Harassment in Group Chat with Female Students Met at Meeting
Male Students' Side Issues "Sincere Apology" Statement
It has come to light that four male students from Hanyang University made sexually harassing remarks in a group chat after having a meeting with female students, sparking controversy.
On the 14th, a post titled "Exposing Hanyang University Students" was uploaded on the university student community 'Everytime.'
The author, A, a current student at Hanyang University, revealed that in April, four male students from Hanyang University, after having a meeting with female students from other universities including A's younger sister, were sexually harassing the female students in their group chat.
A stated, "The male student my sister met at the after-party was drunk and was texting on his phone without hiding it, and I happened to see it," and added, "The content is too filthy to even say, so I will show you the screenshots." According to the released photos, the male students repeatedly made sexually harassing remarks such as "Let's hook up" and "Nice body," evaluated the female students' appearances, and even shared links to pornographic material.
A said, "My sister, the other female students who attended the meeting, and I are suffering day by day," and added, "Seeing their profiles changed to photos of them drinking and enjoying themselves at this festival, I thought we could not just let this go."
As the post quickly spread online, the male students issued an apology on Everytime the same day, stating, "We sincerely apologize to those who were hurt by our wrongful actions." However, they partially denied some allegations, saying, "Some of the conversations and the posting of pornographic material are not related to the female students we met at the meeting."
They further stated, "We conveyed our position and sincerely apologized to the female students we met, but since there was no reply, we prematurely assumed we were forgiven," and added, "We apologize once again through this post for our arrogant judgment and reckless behavior."
Sexual Violence Repeats on Campuses... Participation Rate in Prevention Education Halved
While incidents of sexual violence and sexual harassment have repeatedly occurred on university campuses in recent years, the completion rate of violence prevention education among university students has barely exceeded 50%.
According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's (MOGEF) "2021 Public Institution Sexual Harassment, Sexual Violence, Prostitution, and Domestic Violence Prevention Education Performance" released last October, the average participation rate among university students is 52.7%. Although the participation rate increased after MOGEF introduced a standard in 2020 that institutions with student participation below 50% would be designated as underperforming, the rate remains significantly lower compared to other public institutions.
Violence prevention education is usually conducted online, and watching a video once a year fulfills the completion requirement. Despite this, due to the low participation rate, universities have used inducement methods such as granting volunteer hours to those who complete the education or restricting grade access for those who do not.
Consequently, some argue that there is a need to change the education method to encourage students to participate more actively.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
