There’s a saying out there that goes something like this:
You can understand the theory but without practice, it’s useless.
Well, an inspiring group of female students from NTU decided to leverage technology to do just that.
Meet Girl, Talk
On 21 Feb 2020, it was reported that a group of female students from NTU decided to do their Final Year Project on sexual harassment.
To be more specific, a project that will help girls protect themselves from it.
Hiverlab, a local Virtual Reality (VR) developer, will be helping them.
Re-enact Sexual Harassment Scenes to Girls
People who participated will have to wear VR Goggles, which will show virtual first-hand scenarios of sexual harrassment.
These scenarios are all based on real-life accounts from people who’ve encountered them on campus.
With this, girls are able to practise responses to these verbal harassment without compromising their personal safety.
A Really Great Idea
If you’ve served in the SAF, you’ve probably gone through such training before. Not on how to counter sexual harassment but to operate while under fire from real bullets.
After all, we all know that although we know what to do, yet when we’re in the situation, our mind goes blank. Kind of like what happens during every exam.
An NUS undergrad said that VR made the situation more realistic and made her think about what she can do to ensure her safety and comfort in such situations.
Monica Baey Approves
Monica Baey is the female undergrad who made headlines last year after refusing to let her assailant get away with his wrongdoings.
You can read more about her here but let’s just say that because of her efforts, university campuses have become marginally safer for female students.
She is glad that more progress is made and that, even though they might not always “feel safe” on campus, at least they now have options and support.
Girl, Talk is also hoping to spark conversations and share resources to make university campuses a safer place.
You go, girls.
As long as we don’t have people enabling sexual deviants in their pursuits, we might just see more progress made in the future.
