Women use VRto beat sexual harassment

SINGAPORE: “Wow, your shirt is really see-through. Are you wearing matching underwear?” the man says lewdly. It´s a virtual reality simulation — but it´s enough to shock 23-year-old Elizabeth Lee into silence as the scene plays out on her headset. The VR technology is part of the Girl, Talk project which is aimed at helping women fight back against harassment in Singapore. “I would think that I would respond in a more confrontational way,” Lee admits. “It felt very physically close... it was just really disgusting to hear such crass remarks.

Sexual harassment has been a key issue in the city-state´s university campuses after a student at a top institution took to Instagram to recount a story of being secretly filmed in a dormitory shower. The victim, Monica Baey, felt the perpetrator got off too lightly and her decision to go public has been dubbed Singapore´s #MeToo moment. There were 56 cases of sexual misconduct involving students from six Singapore universities between 2015 and 2017, according to information Education Minister Ong Ye Kung provided to Parliament last May. But many students told AFP the real figure is far higher and many incidents go unreported. Girl, Talk was created by four women — Danelia Chim, Seow Yun Rong, Heather Seet and Dawn Kwan — at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), who felt that while #MeToo had raised awareness there was little to “equip survivors” on how best to respond in different situations. “Even if you´re caught in a physically vulnerable situation, being able to evaluate your situation and make choices about how you behave and react can be incredibly empowering,” the group say on their website. - ´Sexual harassment is common´ The VR simulation features five scenarios based on real experiences. They enlisted male friends to act out the scenarios and filmed them. It was partly inspired by the work of psychologists at a US university, who developed a VR programme to tackle sexual harassment after finding that young women had a stronger reaction to virtual scenarios than conventional role play. Lee explains: “I think it definitely prepares me better for these various possibilities. It emotionally readies me. I would know what further steps to take. I would know to tell a friend, and get support from the community around me and then go and take further action if it´s necessary.