South Korean Woman Sent to Prison For Secretly Photographing Nude Male Model
By Ryan General
A woman in South Korea will be spending 10 months in prison for posting a picture of a male nude model online without permission.
Also a nude model herself, the 25-year old reportedly captured the photo secretly during an art session at Hongik University in Seoul.
The unnamed woman was arrested days after the incident took place in May, according to the BBC.
Monday’s ruling of the high-profile case, which resulted in a rare prison sentence for such a crime, has sparked widespread criticism.
Many have accused authorities of sexism of their alleged double standards around molka or spycam videos, which have more commonly involved men who secretly film women.
“The whole response by the police to this rare case in which a victim is male is truly unprecedented,” Korea Cyber Sexual Violence head Seo Seung-hui was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.
“We rarely saw them act so quickly for countless cases in which victims were female,” she added.
Based on court documents, the woman should “be punished as she has irrevocably damaged the victim’s personal dignity.”
“The victim is having serious post-traumatic stress disorder with depression, and he is unlikely to continue his career as a nude model.”
Protest organizers, however, pointed out that based on 6,000 cases of similar crimes reported each year, men make up 98% of offenders while women comprise about 80% of the victims.
These cases have a very low conviction rate, with only 8.7% of those caught are jailed on their first conviction. Based on the government’s own statistics, only 119 perpetrators of the 6,465 cases reported last year were jailed.
Critics also noted that being photographed or filmed without their knowledge have been a constant fear for many women in South Korea.
Usually posted on porn sites, illegally captured videos or photos are taken from hidden cameras placed in public toilets, gyms, swimming pools and even fitting rooms of clothing shops.
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