Women are victims in loans photo scandal

LIU XINYI/CHINA DAILY

AFTER HUNDREDS OF PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF NAKED WOMEN used as collateral for loans issued via some online lending platforms were posted online, some people have blamed the young women, accusing them of consuming luxuries that exceed their payment abilities. Beijing News comments:

Among the accusations directed at the women, two are the most common: First, the women are very young so they should not splurge on luxuries. Second, if they want to buy some luxury goods they should earn the money to do so by working rather than taking out loans.

Neither of them stands up to scrutiny. According to reports, some of the girls used their naked photos as pledges for a 5,000-yuan ($735) loan to buy such things as a smartphone, which is hardly a luxury item. Second, a lot of the women are college students and although they do have part-time jobs their wages are rather low.

Most of the victims lack social experience and they never realized how much danger they were putting themselves in by using intimate photos to get a loan. Young women are vulnerable and they should be protected from exploitation.

Of course, the girls put themselves at risk by using nude photos to secure a loan, but it is the creditor and those who leaked the photos and videos that have done the wrong.

About a decade ago, criminal gangs forced or enticed young female migrant workers into the sex trade. Today's online lending platforms are acting in a similar way. It is such creditors and platform operators who are the ones that should be held responsible, not the young women who are the victims.

The scandal has also exposed the regulatory problems in the online loan market and the lack of supervision.

It is time the authorities intervened by curbing such practices.