This somewhat-misleading headline should actually read:
"Poll finds 4 in 10 female undergrads think they have ever been victims of sexual harassment"
The SMU students' definition of sexual harassment is also worryingly broad:
"Sexual harassment refers to acts that lower the dignity of women".
Conceivably, this could include the following acts:
- Being forced by the crowd in the MRT to press up against a woman
- A woman being forced by the crowd in the MRT to press up against a man, and thinking the man is trying to be funny
- Hitting on a woman
- Looking admiringly ("staring", according to some definitions) at someone who is presenting herself in such a way as to attract attention
- Smiling at a girl you think is pretty
- Going up to a girl wearing a T-shirt reading: "Looking for friends with benefits" and responding to it (NB: I've actually seen a girl wearing such a T-shirt)
The gynocentric definition offered here also assumes men cannot be victims of sexual harassment, and raises the intriguing possibility that women can sexually harass themselves (see the last example on my list).
Creditably, the article also quotes Singapore Children's Society youth counsellor Carol Balhetchet: "There are usually many variables involved. Could it because the place was crowded? Could it be intentional or accidental?"
A related screenshot from Miyagi:
[Addendum: sg_ljers post about this]
