S’pore Universities & Polys to Install Motion Sensors in Toilets to Deter Voyeurs

What happens if your university has literally not left the headlines for three months because of a sexual harassment epidemic?

Enforce harsher penalties and make clear that academic achievements are no excuse? Conduct intensive campaigns on the need for consent and boundaries? Or install fancy gadgets that… alert toilet users that someone else has entered?

The last option, evidently.

S’pore Universities & Polys to Install Motion Sensors in Toilets to Deter Voyeurs

As The Straits Times reports, communal toilets in Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s residential halls will soon welcome motion detectors, to ensure they don’t welcome more voyeurs.

The motion detectors, as a pilot project by the Nanyang Neighbourhood Police Centre, will make a sound whenever they detect movement to caution toilet users that others have entered the toilet.

The toilet user will then be presented with the options to: abruptly halt their peaceful toilet session and hurriedly flee, overpower the intruder in valiant hand-to-hand combat, or to spend five minutes confused in their stall wondering if the entrant is a legitimate user.

To overcome this problem and efficiently target the intruders, security experts have proposed implementing video analytics and facial recognition in CCTV cameras. 

These include features to swiftly locate the whereabouts of suspected voyeurs on campus, and to identify the gender of someone entering the toilet. Hopefully, female students with square jaws won’t get summoned to the Board of Discipline.

Nonetheless, students interviewed have suggested there are some benefits despite the project’s possible drawbacks. One interviewee stated that “even if it rings, I can’t tell whether it’s a guy or a girl who enters the toilet”, and another voiced that “with the bell, you’re more aware of your surroundings”, contributing to a sense of safety.

Students also found that certain placements for the motion detector can mean that it would ring whenever someone stands next to the door, instead of when someone enters or exits.

Taking into account the varied student feedback, an NTU spokesperson assessed that “no one single measure is wholly sufficient”, and student opinions on the devices will be taken into account.

Besides NTU, other institutions are also exploring the use of technology to deter sexual harassment. A joint statement from five local polytechnics announced their intention to implement facial recognition and video analytics, among other measures, to improve campus security. 

The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has also introduced access controls to toilets and blocks, while the Singapore Management University (SMU) has installed cameras at strategic locations, in addition to introducing an online training programme on the need for respect and consent.

The National University of Singapore (NUS)’s Care Unit is also conducting outreach to educate members of the campus community on respect, appropriate behaviour, and consent. 

Well… maybe more should follow suit.

Feature Image: vchal / Shutterstock.com