The arrest of a 38 -year -old man nicknamed Jiao (widely known online as “Sister Hong”) On July 6 in Nanjing, China raised national indignation. In pose as a woman with elaborate disguises including wigs, silicone mammary prostheses and a carefully trained voice, Jiao attracted men to her rental apartment, secretly filmed their intimate and presumably profit meetings by distributing the online movie.
Although the local police clarified that the number of “1,691 victims” was exaggerated, they confirmed that numerous men were actually recorded without consent. Since the case dominated the titles, the experts warned that this is only the tip of the iceberg in a much larger problem: the mass proliferation of hidden cameras and the illegal distribution of private and sensitive content.
An underground sector in a booming
The miniature espionage cameras disguised from everyday items such as telephone charger, luxurious toys or power outlets are openly sold in the Chinese electronics markets. According to CCTV, a great investigation in the province of Shandong discovered 300 hidden cameras installed in hotel rooms, with over 100,000 private videos leaked. Despite the arrests, the irreversible damage to the privacy of the victims remains.
South Korea is the same way grappling with what is known as the “The silence of the epidemic”Where over 30,000 accidents of cameras hidden between 2013 and 2018 were reported, mainly taking women in toilets and changing rooms. But this technology allows all the sexes to be targeted.
Male victims: the neglected majority
In the Hong sister Case, almost all the victims were male students, employees and even foreign citizens. Many were missed in believing that they were entering genuine romantic relationships. Yet the public response to male victims was surprisingly cold. Some online comments have even mocked them, saying: “Men do not lose anything”.
This reflects a profound social prejudice: the hypothesis that only women can be victims of bad sexual conduct or voyeurism. In reality, studies show that almost 25% of American men experienced some form of sexual violence, according to the CDC. Another survey found that 43% had been sexually harassed.
International research also reveals that men represent 15-20% of spycam victims, in particular in closed environments such as gyms, dormitories or military barracks. However, due to the stigma, many never report abuse. A study discovered that over 70% of male victims wait more than 10 years to reveal their experience.
A system that still ignores male survivors
Toxic gender stereotypes – such as the idea that “real men always want sex” contribute to the silence of male victims. Dr. Roy Levin, a former professor of physiology at the University of Sheffield, observed: “If a man shows a physiological response, people believe it was consensual, ignoring trauma.”
Rebecca physical, a researcher of gender -based violence, added that men often fear being derided or not believed. The lack of services of inclusive victims, hotels or support centers for men not only worsens this.
Legal systems also struggle to adapt. The “genre -based violence” is often interpreted for a short time as violence against women, involuntarily excluding male victims. Consequently, the cases remain underestimated, underestimated and misunderstood by creating a cycle in which silence leads to the inhales, strengthening the stigma.
A request for legal and cultural reform
THE Hong sister The case exposes not only the crimes of a man but also a wider systemic failure. From access to spycam devices to digital black markets on platforms such as Telegram and QQ, the abuse infrastructure is underway while the protections are late.
To truly face this hidden epidemic, countries must strengthen surveillance laws, increase digital responsibility and, above all, dismantle gender stereotypes that prevent the victims from being listened to who are.
