Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Imrahil]

A truly sad issue in Korea that has been severely under-reported. Let's hope articles like this will change people's habits and the police's habits in this country.


Sexual Assault More Prevalent Than Reported

By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter

Twenty-nine out of every 1,000 women were sexually assaulted last year, the Ministry of Gender Equality said Friday. The figure is more than 100 times bigger than previous official reports because in the past 99.7 percent of victims had declined to report incidents to the police, it said.

The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs and Korean Institute of Criminology reported its survey of 7,887 females and 5,721 males found 42 females had suffered from rape or attempted rape.

Once groping, genital exposure (flashing), explicit phone calls and stalking are added, the number of women suffering from sexual assault rose to 770 who reported 2,175 cases. Most suffered from explicit phone calls (220) or flashing (132) while 67 said they had been raped by their spouses.

Most of the offenders were acquaintances of the victim ― mostly former spouses, lovers, co-workers or neighbors. However, the victims did not report these attacks to police because they didn't think it was important (68.1 percent) or they believed they could handle the situation by themselves (12.2 percent).

However, 4.2 percent said police would be of little help while 58.4 percent of those who did report attacks to the police said the subsequent investigation was not satisfactory.

The report predicts there are 110.7 times more actual victims of sexual offences than police or other government agencies believe. We also found 28.1 percent of female respondents felt insecure in their daily lives because of possible sexual assault. We must pay more attention to these women,'' Yun Gang-mo, ministry official said.

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[Adventurer]

Sexual assault is a big problem all over the world, but they don't really talk about it in Korea. In general, there is a lack of police intervention when it comes to helping victims of sexual assault, investigating the murders of Southeast Asians, Koreans or what have you or violence against children as demonstrated with what happened in Ilsan. I do feel bad for women who must suffer in silence. I think with the objectification of women, you get more violence against women. Women are often promoted as a means to an end body wise.

[numazawa]

[Otherside]

Yup sexual assault is a big problem here. Most of the young women I know have told stories about minor incidents on the subway etc. (rogue hand on thigh, rubbing crotch against body etc.) I agree that there should be something done about it...that story a week or two ago involving a hagwon director physically assaulting a woman and this forcing her to go down in him was disgusting...and an 18month sentence was a slap in the face.

I do hope that Korea doesn't go the way of the West, where a woman wears a top with her breasts practically hanging out and so much as a dirty look is borderline sexual assault...

[Adventurer]

[Cerriowen]

[ED209]

[kermo]

[anyangoldboy]

Twenty-nine out of every 1,000 women were sexually assaulted last year


28 of those out of the 1,000 were done by spliff apparently

[bookemdanno]

Excellent and compelling thread topic, OP.

I read somewhere recently that only about 7% of rape cases are reported--and this article appeared in The Korean Herald online.

But then symbolic violence against women is a national pasttime here, isn't it?

[Imrahil]

They say that a large percentage of victims of sexual assault in the western world are still afraid to go public because of the stigma and shame associated with it. I just can't imagine how the victims in Korea must feel, considering how the society is still male dominated. The scary part for me is, I have had male students tell me that they think Korea is becoming too liberal!!

[Hater Depot]

And unfortunately, the hospitals and clinics that victims turn to for help are often unprepared for them and basically uninterested in getting prepared.

http://koreabeat.com/?p=832

[Justin Kimberlake]

I work with a guy who confided to me that he was anally raped at a jimjilbang a few years ago on Jeju. What reaction or comfort he drew from confessing this to me, I don't know. I just can't look the guy in the eyes anymore. Thank god his contract is up in a few weeks.

[Paddycakes]

How do you define "sexual assault" though.

The problem is that certain groups (the victims industry) expand the definition so wide so it includes almost everyone that they wind up trivializing the real victims of sexual assault.

[billybrobby]