'Nth room scandal shifted people's focus from victims to offenders'
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Sexual health educator Cho A-ra / Courtesy of Cho A-ra
Cho A-ra, a sexual health educator and the author of “I Teach Sex Education,” said she has spotted a change in the public perception of online sex crimes over the past few years.
She mentioned that the “Nth room” case has made people shift the blame from the victims to the offenders. Methods used to exploit people have become more sophisticated with technological advancements, and the public is now calling for more attention to be paid to the health and safety of victims.
The Korean public expressed outrage at the news of the sex crime scandal known as the “Nth room” case which was publicized in March. Victims, including underage girls, were forced to submit explicit and sometimes violent videos of themselves to perpetrators who would share the material in Telegram group chats.
An estimated 260,000 users paid for access to the group chats with either cryptocurrency or sexual exploitation videos of their own. More than 309 people accused of online sex crimes related to the case have been detained by police as of April 16.
“What's notable about the Nth room is that it presented a change in victim-blaming attitudes,” Cho said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.
“Whether we like to admit it or not, there had been harsh social attitudes and derogation of victims ― some questioning the victim's level of resistance or requesting access to illegally filmed videos.”
She urged people to continue sending support to victims instead of giving pitiful looks so that they can recover from the trauma.
The sex expert emphasized that what was seen in the “Nth room” is not an entirely new crime, but merely another form of rape culture, in which rape and sexual assault are normalized and downplayed due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality.
“Sex crimes will become more diversified and sophisticated unless we try to eliminate rape culture through education and cultural reckoning,” she said. “In order to do so, we need to acknowledge that online sex crimes are a societal problem, not an individual issue.”
Cho A-ra's book “I Teach Sex Education” released in April / Courtesy of Mati Books
Cho also stressed the importance of comprehensive sex education, referring to curriculum that includes cognitive, emotional and social aspects of sexuality apart from a prevention-centered approach to sexual violence.
“Sex education is not only about preventing sexual violence, but how one can pursue a healthy and happy sex life ― by this I don't mean just sex but any form of sexual decision, whether it's what hairstyle to have, what kind of underwear to wear, whether or not to wear a bra, whether or not to get married or have children, etc.,” Cho said.
“When I teach sex education to teenagers, everyone knows what is right and wrong. In the real world, however, some girls do not understand sexual abuse and do not recognize obscene behavior,” she said.
“Comprehensive sex education will enable young people to build respectful social and sexual relationships.”
Cho also advised parents to take a step-by-step approach to have a constructive conversation on thorny issues revolving around gender and sexuality. “Don't hesitate to have an open dialogue with kids about sex. It's not too late to have these conversations even with teens,” she said.