< Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education >

Anti-sexual Violence Movement and Human Rights in Korea

Lee, Mi-kyoung

(Head, Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center)

1. Introduction

Even in the early 1990s, sexual violence was considered merely a problem for
“unlucky women,” rather than a serious social issue in Korea. Chapter 32 of the
Criminal Act once defined sexual violence as a “crime against chastity.” Sexual violence
was not viewed as a violation of human rights and women were supposed to keep their
“virginal purity” whatever it took. Less than 5,000 sexual violence cases were annually
reported to the police, a reporting rate of merely 2.2% (The Korean Institute of
Criminology, 1990). The most serious problem was the cynical views of public which
reflected attitudes that victims might have brought the situation on themselves or “had it
coming.” Such stigmatization of victims stopped most victims from reporting their cases.
Most scholars did not see sexual violence as a subject of study, conducting almost no
research or national surveys on sexual violence until the mid-80s.

The political and social atmosphere under authoritarianism played a large role in
keeping sexual violence invisible. Life-threatening social violence was prevalent under
the oppressive ancient regime along with abuses of power, such as sexual torture and
other types of severe torture that resulted in death. Institutions including hojuje, the
patriarchal family system, also propped up a male-dominated society and kept the status
of women low. In this social atmosphere, sexual violence made the lives of women
vulnerable and painful, yet there was no proper recourse to correct the situation.

Before 1993, the statute of limitations for sexual crimes expired six months after the
crime took place. The Criminal Procedure Act (Article 224) banned victims from
accusing biological relatives of sexual violence, so even a father constantly raping his
daughter could not be charged. Victims could not seek any outside help during the

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investigation and court proceedings. There were no social, legal, or medical systems for
victim support. When a series of cases in which sexual violence victims killed their
perpetrators occurred in the early 90s, women’s activist groups supported the victims,
and launched a movement calling for the enactment of the Special Act on Sexual
Violence. This also facilitated the publication of feminist reports on sexuality and sexual
violence in Korean society. The global women’s rights movement coincided with this
time period, accelerating the enactment movement in Korea.

The Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims (hereafter,
the Special Act on Sexual Violence) was enacted in 1994, followed by the Act on the
Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims, the Act on the Prevention
of Sexual Traffic and Protection of Victims, and the Act on the Protection of Children
and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse in the following decade. The Act on Prohibiting
Gender Discrimination and Remedies and the Act on Equal Employment of Men and
Women were introduced as well in order to restrict sexual harassment. In recent years
the government and the National Assembly have been taking the lead in enforcing these
acts. Some of these acts prescribe the use of electronic GPS locators (electronic
anklets), medical treatments for reducing the sexual impulses of sex offenders (chemical
castration), and disclosure of information about registered perpetrators in order to
improve monitoring and punishment systems while preventing recidivism.

Although much of what women’s rights groups have asked for is reflected in the
current legislation, the deep-rooted patriarchal structure of Korean society has not really
changed. Many studies on sexual violence have found that the important pillars of laws
in Korea―justice and objectivity―are in fact discriminative against women. In the
process of establishing protective measures for victims, unexpected obstacles, such as the
excessive instruction and supervision from the government, have surfaced. At this point,
it is important to examine the achievements and losses of the enactment movement thus
far. As for the losses and problems, in particular, a comprehensive and thorough
analysis needs to be conducted.

2. Revealing hidden cases of sexual violence: the politics of naming

Looking back at the last 20 years, it has to be admitted that there has been great
progress in the laws regarding sexual violence. The adoption of the Special Act on
Sexual Violence and the movements for the Act on the Protection of Children and

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Juveniles from Sexual Abuse significantly contributed to the establishment of a basic
legal framework for sex crimes. Based on these acts, sex crimes against family and
relatives, minors, and the disabled are now subjected to aggravated punishment. Special
provisions on sex offender punishment and victim protection have been adopted as well
in regard to supporting sexual violence relief centers, protecting victims, allowing a
presence of a person having fiduciary relationship with the victim, recording the
testimony of minors, banning the disclosure of victims’ identities, disseminating
information about sex offenders, and limiting job opportunities for offenders against
minors. The enactment movement not only improved the standards for investigation and
punishment but also induced practical changes among practitioners in the field.

Some human rights groups disapproved of strong punishment policies, including

electronic anklets and chemical castration. Although such voices helped raise public
awareness about the drawbacks to the policies, they fell short of stopping the enactment
and revision of laws in support of these strong policies. Learning from these
experiences, we need more effort to effectively engage in policymaking rather than
simply raising concerns.

One of the most meaningful achievements of the enactment movement is that

improved measures for victim protection are applied to victims of other crimes. For
example, measures such as allowing a person with fiduciary relationship with the victim
to accompany the victim and recording the testimony of victims were adopted for
overall criminal procedure when the Criminal Procedure Act was revised. This is
significant because the efforts made in anti-sexual violence crimes ultimately improved
protection for victims of all crimes. There are many other discussions or institutional
changes for protection of victims and their rights in other crimes, based on the
achievements made against sexual violence crimes.

Regarding sexual harassment issues, institutional changes outpaced changes in social

perception. The adoption of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act, after the sexual
harassment case of the teaching assistant at Seoul National University, created a lot of
confusion in Korean society at first because the social consensus about the concept of
sexual harassment had not fully developed back then. However, the adoption
successfully changed the social perception of sexual harassment in the end from a mere
joke to a clear violation of victim’s rights. It was the enactment movement that
contributed to such changes because it elucidated the problems of sexual harassment
through various booklets and remarks. The movement has also engaged in a variety of
activities including surveys on legal practitioners' sexual assault awareness, studies
regarding secondary damages, the movement challenging Supreme Court precedents, and

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education to prevent sexual violence in order to improve sexual assault awareness
among legal practitioners. Such efforts are gradually coming to fruition.

The enactment movement promoted public-private cooperation in lawmaking. Sexual

violence relief centers and related organizations effectively carried their belief into
legislation based on counseling services and research, while the government sought out
the centers when creating new policies. This type of partnership can be used as a
model in other areas as well. The enactment movement clearly recognized previously
hidden problems in our society by naming them sexual crimes. Moreover, it revealed
how the existing legal system that had long been considered objective and neutral was
actually male-dominant and ignorant of women's experiences and voices. The
significance of the movement lies in the fact that the voices of women are finally being
taken seriously.

3. Experiencing the possibility of changing gender-biased laws

While it took more than 50 years to revise family-related laws and abolish the hojuje,
the Special Act on Sexual Violence was established in just three years since protestors
demanded enactment of the Special Act. The Special Act is special because it stipulates
that sexual violence is a social crime which requires the government’s intervention,
preventive measures, and regulations. Also, it is meaningful in that special regulations
have been set up under the Special Act to protect victims’ human rights. Since the
enactment, counseling centers and protection facilities have been supporting victims,
paving the way for the creation of a nationwide network of the anti-sexual violence
movement in Korea. In addition, sexuality, which used to be a private issue, has
become the focus of public debate.

However, as mentioned above, it still remains an open question whether the

anti-sexual violence movement has been strong enough to challenge or even overturn the
patriarchal system and men’s views on sexuality. In this regard, the overall
achievements of the movement need to be evaluated again, reflecting diverse
perspectives. Although there are many conservatives in Korean society, the passage of
the Special Act did not take long because the struggle to publicize the severity of the
issue drew people’s attention. Not just that, women’s rights organizations worked hard
to improve the status of women. Nevertheless, there is a great need for further
evaluation whether enough work has been carried out to challenge or entirely change

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the age-old patriarchal social order. On the one hand, some say taking a conciliatory
position did help bring change. On the other hand, however, others counter-argue that it
became more difficult for activists to get involved in the power structure of sexual
violence, gender politics, and other legal battles.

Also, the question remains unanswered as to whether the Special Act has helped to
decrease the rate of sexual violence or whether it has guaranteed the victims who
decided to file criminal charges against offenders the right to go through investigation
and court proceedings without any secondary victimization. In reality, counselors
continue to come across many victims of sexual violence, and the secondary
victimization does occur during investigation, court proceedings, and treatment processes.
Given that discrimination based on gender is commonly practiced (Cho Kuk, 2003)
under the guise of the objectivity of the law, the anti-sexual violence movement still
has a long way to go. But the efforts of the women’s rights movement are gradually
bearing fruit. This signifies that there is a ray of hope of changing unfair laws and
institutions and that there are chances to transform the patriarchal society by establishing
and implementing laws.

Looking back, the women’s rights movement has had a positive impact on the
process of the enactment and revision of the Special Act. Now, it is time to think
about the future direction of the movement. Under the newly revised act, activities
endemic to the women’s rights movement have begun to receive government support.
Unfortunately, this has led to severe problems: the movement has grown unnecessarily
big and there are an increasing number of cases where NGOs fail to effectively monitor
or criticize government policies. Also, in the process of expanding the Ministry of
Gender Equality into MOGEF or transferring the jurisdiction of workplace sexual
harassment from the Ministry of Gender Equality to the National Human Rights
Commission, possible problems have not been clearly or swiftly identified nor properly
predicted. Nevertheless, proponents supported the government’s moves without much
forethought. On top of that, experts or officials in charge were slow to respond when
problems actually occurred. In a very subdivided and specialized modern society,
women’s rights organizations have to go beyond pointing out problems as they did in
the past. They need to provide more detailed policy suggestions based on legal
knowledge and what has been learned from counseling sessions. For organizations which
have not met such expectations, self-reflection is much needed.

The rapid surge of the number of sexual violence counseling centers is the most
remarkable change in the landscape due to the anti-sexual violence movement. There
was only one counseling center in 1991, and more than 150 in 2013. Consequently,

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victims now have greater access to help. But, some centers offer support that does not
exactly meet the needs of victims. Others only focus on giving advice and serving as
social welfare services providers, rather than taking a major part in the anti-sexual
violence movement. Moreover, most centers only support victims of sexual violence
against children or rape with murder. The government has a limited budget assigned for
the operation of centers and the provision of medical and legal services. In addition,
instead of encouraging cooperation, the government invites participation from private
organizations in a form of public competition, triggering conflicts. Furthermore, under
the name of “guidance and inspection,” the government monitors, meddles in, and
controls the work of the counseling centers for the convenience of governance. As a
result, victims’ needs are not being reflected in the centers’ activities. Other countries
had their own difficulties during the process of institutionalization and the experiences
they accumulated along the way have great implications for Korea.

4. From instructing and monitoring of NGOs by the government to building a

public-private partnership

Violence against women has a long history and deep roots. To eradicate it, all
members of society must put forth effort and dedication. Above all, equal and
ubiquitous cooperation between the government and civic organizations is needed. The
government and all organizations helping the victims of violence against women must
understand each other’s roles, play their roles faithfully, and cooperate with each other.

To eradicate violence against women, the government must provide funding to the
movements targeting it, and run national-level projects, including campaigns. Civic
organizations should help women in need of help by utilizing the spontaneity, creativity,
and independence of NGO’s, and should also carefully monitor government policies.

While laws and institutions are being introduced, some raise concerns that the
government is not developing a healthy partnership with the NGO’s and is undermining
their autonomy. It was women’s organizations―not the government―that began helping
sexual violence victims and first raised issues regarding sexual violence. In fact, that has
been a global trend. As a result of enactment movement, some counseling centers now
receive around KRW 60 million in subsidies from the government every year. However,
the government uses the terms "monitoring" and "instructing" when describing its
relationship with these organizations. Considering the double-edged sword of

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institutionalization, thorough discussion and reflection on future cooperation between the
government and the organizations are required. In addition, discussions on support
measures for sexual violence victims that are increasingly concentrated on providing
professional medical help and drawing up specific and long-term blueprints through
governance between the government and anti-sexual violence movement groups are
required.

5. Conclusion

The laws and institutions on violence against women, which have become firmly
rooted, should now be implemented more actively to make the lives of women safer
and freer. What is more urgent than the introduction of new laws is paying attention to
the implementation of the existing laws that were put in place after tough discussions.
Unfortunately, the implementation of existing laws and institutions are not well
monitored or assessed. Above all, specific measures need to be devised to evaluate
whether these relevant laws and institutions are actually protecting the rights of the
victims favorably, whether such measures are preventing sexual violence in daily lives,
and whether the measures are serving their originally intended goals. The implementation
process must be carefully reviewed in great detail, from checking the awareness of the
relevant officials to the allotment of the budget. There have been many changes, such
as allowing the prosecution of offenders without a complaint from the victim.

Also, the goals of the laws and policies on violence against women should be
revised. To do so, fundamental questions should be re-addressed, including the framing
of the issue of violence against women and why we should be against it. Society
should understand that domestic violence and sexual violence are not a personal
problem. So that victims are not simply labeled as subjects of protection or subjected to
skepticism and criticism, society should be educated, especially in light of the fact that
Korean society remains a patriarchal system. Also, the fact that most domestic violence
victims are women makes a gender-based approach to the issue natural. Sexual violence
is not an incidental activity, but rather an abuse of human rights by socially dominant
males. Recognizing this makes us see the nature and the seriousness of sexual violence
more clearly, as well as understand the problems that male victims face, though small
in number.

These kinds of understanding have brought significant changes to the laws and

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institutions that resolve sexual violence issues, but almost no changes to the daily lives
of the general public. Reasons for such discrepancy should be investigated. The public’s
approach to violence against women is still closer to providing dispensation rather than
respecting the victims’ human rights. That implies that the laws and institutions that
focus on punishing the offenders have not contributed much to spreading the correct
understanding of sexual violence.

In conclusion, the focus of laws and policies must be shifted from protecting and
helping the victims of violence against women to guaranteeing their rights, empowering
them, and changing the socio-cultural perception of sexual violence.

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