By Lee Hyo-sik
When we hear someone is sexually harassed, we usually think that a young woman is the victim and a middle-aged man, the perpetrator.
But things have changed over the years and many men these days have fallen victim to rape and other sexual violence in workplaces and elsewhere. In particular, many young men suffer from various forms of sexual harassment while serving in the military.
But the majority of male victims choose not to come forward to speak out about the violence against them and seek counseling as Confucian teachings still dominate Korean society, which teaches men not to shed tears and stay mentally strong under any circumstances.
A 28-year old man who recently began a career at one of the nation’s mid-sized business groups has been harassed by his female supervisor in her early 40s. He is often hugged unexpectedly from behind by her. She also touches his buttocks, saying that physical contact with a young man gives her ``yang,’’ positive energy.
The man has been putting up with it, thinking that he may lose his job or suffer from the fallout if he goes to other supervisors and complains about sexual harassment. He also fears if he publicizes the incident, he may get negative reviews from colleagues and superiors.
Additionally, many young men suffer from various forms of sexual violence while in the military. Usually, junior enlisted soldiers are sexually harassed by senior soldiers and officers. In July, an enlisted soldier was raped by his senior officer in a car. The soldier filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission against the officer. He was later stripped of his duty.
The Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center (KSVRC), the nation’s largest counseling provider for those who suffer from sexual violence, said it received 42 calls from men in 2009, accounting for 3.1 percent of the total 1,338. But the center estimates substantially more Korean men undergo sexual harassment, saying the tallied numbers are meaningless.
According to a recent survey conducted by online job portal Incruit, 24 percent of male respondents said they were subject to various forms of sexual ridicule at least once. About 76 percent of females suffered from sexual harassment.
About 61 percent said sexual harassment takes place on a regular basis, with only 39 percent calling the harassment a one-time incident.
Among various types of sexual harassment, unnecessary physical contact was cited the most at 35.6 percent, followed by obscene jokes at 29.9 percent and comments on appearance at 11.5 percent.
In response to sexual harassment, 55.2 percent said they did nothing and put up with it, while 29.9 percent took steps and expressed unpleasant feelings to the harasser. Only 3.4 percent said they consulted with colleagues about what to do, with 2.3 percent reporting it to supervisors.
``Women these days have become active in reporting sexual harassment to law enforcement authorities and seeking help from us and other counseling providers. In contrast, men continue to remain reluctant to disclose sexual harassment against them,’’ KSVRC activist Kang Yu-ri said.
Despite scarce cases of men reporting sexual violence, Kang estimates that male children are increasingly becoming victims to abuse perpetrated by adult men. ``We are also positive that substantially more male grown-ups are suffering from sexual harassment in workplaces and elsewhere than reported. We think the number of reports of sexual violence from men will increase down the road, but not by a large margin.’’
She attributed this reluctance to the traditional patriarchal system, which has dominated Korean society for centuries. ``Confucian teachings continue to exert a huge influence over how Koreans think and behave. If a man comes out and publically says that he was sexually harassed by either a woman or another man, he will not be regarded as a man.’’
Kang said many men choose to put up with sexual harassment and keep it to themselves rather than be subject to public humiliation, adding it takes a great deal of courage for male victims to pick up the phone and call the center.
Additionally, male sexual victims are inadequately protected by the law, compared to women. ``The current law states that even if men are raped, they are not subject to the same protection as women because the punishment for rape is only applied for female victims.’’