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It’s attempted rape, not just trespassing: K-stalker in viral video gets charge changed as South Korean police bow to public outrage
- The accused now faces the more serious charge after tens of thousands sign an online petition demanding a more serious punishment
- Gender equality remains elusive in a nation where the percentage of female murder victims is even higher than India’s
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Police in South Korea were forced to bow to public pressure on Friday as anger mounted over a viral video showing a woman being stalked to her flat in Seoul.
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Outrage over the 80-second clip – which shows a man in a baseball cap trying to force his way into the woman’s flat in the Sillim-dong neighbourhood – grew steadily after it was shared on social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on Tuesday.
Viewers became even more incensed when the police said that the man – who turned himself in after the clip went viral – would be charged only with trespassing, rather than attempted rape.
Many observers said the authorities’ lax stance showed the extent of gender inequality in the patriarchal nation. .
“Women’s bodies and safety are not valued by the authorities,” said Michael Hurt, a sociologist at the University of Seoul Centre for Global Culture and Social Empathy. “There are myriad cases of the police blaming the victim even when women who were assaulted have the courage to come forward.”
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