ITC Topic Class: Police station bathrooms condemned as human rights violations | Asian Correspondent

Police station bathrooms condemned as human rights violations | Asian Correspondent

At the beginning of his month Ms. Kim, who is in her 30s, suffered a humiliating episode in the Seoul police station she had been called to for an investigation.

She stepped into the investigation room's bathroom but found herself completely exposed in a unisex bathroom with a large and completely transparent glass partition on the door.

Ms. Kim asked the officer in charge if she could use an exterior bathroom but the answer was that she could not go outside, and if she did not use the interior bathroom she would just have to hold it.

Controversy began on the the over "the investigated woman who opened the bathroom door."

The bathroom, which is mainly used by men or simply for handwashing, has no lock on its door and the large glass partition allows any tall person to easily see inside.

It is now being said that it is a human rights violation for most of the investigation room bathrooms in the station to be unisex and to have large glass partitions exposing their users.

On the 22nd Yonhap News visited 31 investigation room bathrooms in Seoul, fining that just six were not unisex..

Also, in twenty of the bathrooms there were no locks, glass partitions on the doors, and door heights were installed at waist-level, all showing a lack of regard for the existence of women.

They were set up so that the inside could be viewed from above on the other side, but that creates the danger of even exposure even to those not attempting to peep. Women who need to use the bathroom during an investigation have no choice but to bear the humiliation.

Ms. Kim said, "I spoke with the person responsible but it was no use. I felt angry and ashamed while using the bathroom."

The officers who use the bathrooms while on duty feel similarly.

One officer named Lee said, "when we are busy it is difficult to accompany a woman to an exterior bathroom. It's a difficult situation, they should put in women's bathrooms that can be used anywhere."

A member of the SARANGBANG Group for Human Rights (인권운동사랑방) said, "the problem would melt away by simiply having female officers accompany the women to an external bathroom, so think about it only from the point of view of the convenience of the investigators is the cause of the issue. There need to be clear standards for human rights during investigations."

Vocabulary:
Humiliating
Episode
Investigation
Transparent
Hold it
Violation
Investigation

Discussion questions

This article talks about human rights. Do you think arrestees have human rights? If so what rights?
Do you this case should be called a human rights case, or something else?
Do you ever experience this issue in a normal bathroom?
What bothers you most about public bathrooms?
What are some of the things you appreciate most about a nice public bathroom?