Violence against women is of concern in the Republic of Korea, with latest national statistics indicating that females accounted for 83.8% of victims of “violent crimes” in 2011.
[22] Numerous measures have been taken to crack down on sexual and domestic violence in particular, including legislative amendments and the publication of guidebooks (e.g. Guidebook on the rights of and support for sexual crime victims; Crime Prevention Guide for Foreigners)
[23], and the recently elected Park Geun-hye government
[24] has committed to eradicating “four evils” from society, among which are domestic violence and rape.
[25] Sexual assault encompasses a wide range of crimes listed under s.2 of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. The list includes, inter alia, the act of arranging for prostitution; public indecency; kidnapping to engage in an indecent act, sexual intercourse or for prostitution; rape; and pornography.
Domestic violence is criminalised and regulated by a specific Act and a comprehensive plan which were introduced in 2011.
[26] Accordingly, domestic violence encompasses a range of crimes between family members – such as assault, abuse, arrest, confinement and intimidation – which inflict physical, mental or property damage.
[27]Perpetrators of domestic violence face up to five years in jail and a fine of KRW seven million.
[28] Moreover, police officers can issue eviction orders or telecommunication bans on the spot or at the request of the victim, if there is a danger of domestic violence recurring and an immediate need for protection.
[29]
6,848 cases of domestic violence were recorded in 2011, compared to 13,770 in 2004,
[30]with 2012 statistics revealing that women represent the majority of victims (92.1%)
[31]and the minority of perpetrators (16.3%).
[32]97% of offenders were arrested in 2011.
[33] 231 counselling centres and 63 care facilities offered specialised support to victims of domestic violence in 2012.
[34]Special measures aimed at protecting and supporting female victims of violence include a 24 hour hotline, One-stop Support Centres where women can receive medical, legal and investigation assistance, shelters for women and "Centres for Women’s Human Rights”.
[35]Rape is defined under s.297 of the Criminal Act as the act of using violence or intimidation to have sexual intercourse with a female. Marital rape is not specifically criminalised, despite the CEDAW Committee urging the country to take the necessary legislative steps to do so.
[36] However, s.304 of the Criminal Act criminalises sexual intercourse under pretence of marriage, and in a landmark decision the Supreme Court ruled on 16 May 2013 that forced sex on one’s wife constitutes rape, thereby recognising marital rape.
The Criminal Act distinguishes rape from “quasi-rape” and “indecent act by compulsion”. “Quasi-rape” is committed by taking advantage of the victim’s situation of unconsciousness or inability to resist the act,
[37] while “indecent act by compulsion” is defined as the use of violence or intimidation on a victim of either sex.
[38]The severity of the punishment for rape depends on the victim’s age and relationship to the perpetrator, and on the existence of aggravating factors. Indeed, non-aggravated rape carries a prison sentence of five years minimum where committed against a relative
[39] or a child under 19 years of age,
[40]and three years minimum when the victim is over that age.
[41] Relatives are understood as all relatives within the fourth degree of relationship by blood and within second degree of relation by marriage.
[42] Quasi-rape carries the same penalty as rape, while indecent act by compulsion is punished by a fine or a prison sentence of up to ten years.
[43]Recorded acts of sexual violence are on the rise. 31,949 cases were recorded in 2012, compared to 29,439 in 2010, leading to 28,032 arrests in 2012 (arrest rate of 87.7 %),
[44]while 8 574 prosecutions were made in 2011.
[45] 19,998 females were raped in 2012, up from 17,858 in 2010, with most victims in the 21-30 year age group,
[46] and males accounting for the vast majority (95.6 %) of known perpetrators in 2012.
[47] 4,218 people were convicted for rape in 2013.
[48]Victims of sexual violence can receive support through counselling centres and protective facilities, both of which were introduced in 2010 through the Act on the Prevention of Sexual Assault and Protection of Victims Thereof. Counselling centres support victims, inter alia, by accompanying them to medical institutions, courts, investigative agencies, or to protective agencies if they face difficulties leading a normal life or require urgent protection.
[49]Protective agencies not only provide protection, shelter and medical treatment to victims of sexual violence; they also assist them in regaining autonomy and finding employment.
[50]According to Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI), 176 counselling centres and 21 protection facilities were operating nation-wide in 2012.
[51]Sexual harassment is regulated by several Acts: the Framework Act on Women’s Development, which contains a general definition and an obligation for preventive education; the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation, which criminalises sexual harassment in the workplace; and the National Human Rights Commission Act, which covers public education establishments.
Under s.4 of the Framework Act on Women’s Development, sexual harassment occurs when employers, employees or workers of public bodies use their position or duties to make someone feel sexual humiliation or aversion through verbal or physical behaviour of a sexual nature, or when they put someone at a disadvantage in employment for refusing such behaviour. A very similar definition is contained in s.3(3)(d) of the National Human Rights Commission Act and in s.2(2) of the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation. The latter specifically prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace (s.12) and obliges employers not only to conduct education on sexual harassment (s.13), but also to take all possible measures to prevent sexual harassment by clients (s.14-2), and to take disciplinary measures against sexual harassers without delay (s.14). Employers who dismiss sexually harassed workers or put them at a disadvantage in employment face up to three years in jail and a fine of up to KRW 20 million (s.37). Moreover, employers can be fined up to KRW three million for failing to conduct preventive education on sexual harassment; up to KRW five million for dismissing or otherwise disadvantaging workers sexually harassed by clients, or for failing to take disciplinary measures against sexual harassers; and up to KRW 10 million for committing sexual harassment in the workplace (s.39).
UN Women reports that 30 to 40% of women in the Republic of Korea experience sexual harassment in the workplace.
[52]Moreover, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) reports that 25.7% of discrimination cases brought to its attention in 2013 (764 cases) were related to sexual harassment, and that two-thirds of victims did not go further by submitting formal complaints for fear that their case be made public.
[53]The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has committed to transforming the “gender discriminating social structure”, including the perception that men who harass have only committed a mistake and that sexual harassment against females is due to their bad behaviour.
[54]Female genital mutilation is not reported to be practiced in the Republic of Korea.
[55]
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Although national data on antenatal care and unmet need for
family planning is unavailable, latest UN figures indicate that 100% of pregnant women were attended by a skilled attendant at birth in 2012.
[56] 70% of women aged 15-49 used some form of modern
contraception in 2012,
[57]and the mean age of mothers at first birth rose from 28.3 years in 2002 to 30.5 years in 2012.
[58]Abortion is not available on request but is legal in the event of threat to maternal life, rape, health concerns and foetal impairments.
[59] Indeed, voluntary abortion is criminalised under ss.269-270 of the Criminal Act. Accordingly, pregnant women who procure their own miscarriage face up to one year in jail and a fine of KRW two million maximum, while health professional face up to two years in jail for conducting an abortion upon request or with the consent of the pregnant woman, and seven years imprisonment otherwise. In its latest report (2011) the CEDAW Committee urged the country to remove the ban and to provide women with access to quality services for the management of complications arising from unsafe abortions.
[60] An attempt to overturn the ban was made in August 2012, but the Constitutional Court upheld the ban. Latest statistics indicate a decrease in the overall rate of induced abortions (26% of married women in 2011 had experienced an abortion, compared to 17% in 2012).
[61]
[22] Statistics Korea website [23] Korean National Police Agency website [24] President Park Geun-hye assumed office on 25 February 2013 [25] Government of the Republic of Korea website [26] Act on Special Cases concerning the punishment of crime and domestic violence; Comprehensive Plan to Prevent Domestic Violence [27] bid., s.2 (no official translation could be found; summary definition available at: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (2009), Korea, Republic of: Domestic violence, including legislation, availability of state protection and support services for victims, KOR103305.E) [28] US Department of State [29] Ibid. [30] Ministry of Gender Equality and Family website [31] Ibid., “Victims of domestic violence (By Sex.Age)” [32] Ibid.,“Perpetrators of domestic violence (By Type of crime/Sex)” [33] Ibid., “Occurrence and arrest of domestic violence (By Type of Crime/Sex)” 34] Ibid., “Number of Sexual·Domestic Violence Counseling Centers & Protection Facilities(By Administrative district)” [35] Ministry of Gender Equality and Family website, Women’s Rights protection, Outline of the policy [36] CEDAW (2011) [37] Criminal Act, s.299 [38] Ibid., s.298 [39] Act on Special Cases concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, s.7(1) [40] Ibid., s.8-2(1); Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse, s.7 [41] Criminal Act, s.297 [42] Act on Special Cases concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, s.7(4) [43] Criminal Act, s.298 [44] KWDI (2014) [45] KWDI (2014) [46] Ibid. [47] Ibid. [48] US Department of State (2013) [49] Act on the Prevention of Sexual Assault and Protection of Victims Thereof, ss.11-12 [50] Ibid., ss.13-14 [51] KWDI (2014) [52] UN Women website [53] NHRCK website (2014) [54] Ministry of Gender Equality and Family website, Women’s Rights protection, Sexual harassment [55] UNICEF (2013 [56] NFPA (2013) [57] UNFPA (2013), op. cit. [58] Statistics Korea website [59] UN Women (2011), Annex 3[60] CEDAW (2011) [61] KWDI (2014)
