Hong Kong-based artist Kathleen McDermott has invented a mechanical dress that inflates to repel creeps on the city’s public transport. When a citizen invades the wearer’s personal space, it expands using an umbrella mechanism to create a barrier…
Instructions on how to make one are available on McDermott’s ‘Urban Armour’ website.
It comes on the day that the local DAB party warned of ‘peeping toms’ using Bond-esque gadgets to spy on women. The party displayed a range of surveillance devices, all available for under HK$1,000 from flea markets or online retailers.
Recently, a camera encased in a wall-mounted coat hook was reportedly discovered inside a bathroom in Ma On Shan MTR station. In January, a man was convicted of taking ‘upskirt’ shots of women on the MTR using a pinhole camera attacked to his shoe. There have been 30 reports of such violations between January and April alone.