Seoul: South Korea has scrapped a proposal to finish necessary gender segregation in hospital inpatient rooms, a well being ministry official confirmed to AFP on Tuesday, after public backlash over security.
A number of nations akin to Japan and Canada have launched gender-neutral amenities, a transfer that has sparked debate and pushback from critics who argue privateness considerations, in addition to security dangers together with sexual misconduct in shared areas.
South Korea is a world know-how and cultural powerhouse, however stays socially conservative.
The well being ministry unveiled the plan final month as a part of broader regulatory reforms to make it simpler for members of the family and {couples} to share hospital rooms.
“Gender segregation will probably be maintained as beneath the present system,” a well being ministry official instructed AFP Tuesday.
Exceptions to intensive care items, by which sufferers require shut monitoring no matter intercourse, and two-bed rooms occupied by members of the family would stay in place, the well being ministry added.
Beneath the now withdrawn proposal, South Korean hospitals would now not have been required to separate sufferers by gender in inpatient rooms, a rule at present enforced and punishable by as much as 15 days’ suspension for violations.
The well being ministry had proposed the change, arguing that some hospitals already allowed married {couples} to share two-bed rooms and that the regulation was now not crucial.
It mentioned the choice to withdraw comes after reflecting on the response from the general public.
The proposal drew robust opposition with greater than 4,000 feedback posted on the federal government’s legislative discover web site.
“There might be a chance of intercourse crimes focusing on girls,” one commenter wrote.
One other described the proposal as an “ignorant invoice that disregards the concern and anxiousness of feminine sufferers.”
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