Women's group to set up help centers for sex crime victims

By Lee Kyung-min

A women’s rights group plans to set up help centers for sex crime victims. The group will also propose legislative recommendations to help protect women. The move comes as support for the #MeToo movement is increasingly gaining momentum in Korea.

Members of the Korea National Council of Women held a rally under the theme of “#MeToo, #WithYou” in Gwanghwamun Square, Friday, vowing to set up help centers at 17 regional offices in provinces or cities nationwide. The group will hold a founding ceremony of the center headquarters on Thursday, which is International Women’s Day, which celebrates the “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women” and calls for action to accelerate gender equality.

The group plans to set up a consultative body to support victims systematically and to propose legislation to protect victims who speak out against workplace sexual harassment or assault. The proposed legislation will also aim to prevent abuse of power stemming from an unequal power balance between men and women, and will demand equal pay for equal work. The draft will be completed by the end of next month.

“We express firm support and deep consolation for victims who braved what could become a personal attack or victim-shaming to raise awareness publicly about the crime prevalent in every aspect in the society,” a group member said during the rally. “It took a great amount of courage for them to speak up. Their decision should be commended because doing so required them inevitably to confront the emotional pain and suffering with which they can never deal with easily.

“We will stand by the movement until the day the country completely roots out sex crimes.”

The rally came amid a flood of revelations by sex crime victims against perpetrators in almost all sectors of the country over the past month. The flood was triggered by female prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun, who said a then-senior prosecutor had groped her at a funeral eight years ago. An investigation is ongoing into Seo’s allegation that was subject to undue personnel measures, including an unwanted transfer to a remote branch and a poor work performance review.