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| Education Minister Yoo Eun-hye, announces new counter measures to better prevent sexual assault and harassments in schools at the Seoul Government Complex, Friday. Yonhap |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Starting next year, any student who has been sexually assaulted or harassed will be able to immediately transfer schools upon request. In addition, any school officials embroiled in sexual assault claims will be directly investigated by the district education offices.
The decision came from a societal relations ministers meeting which took place at the Seoul Government Complex, Friday, headed by Education Minister Yoo Eun-hye.
"We have come out with the policy with related department heads to better tackle the school #MeToo, issue" Yoo said. "The school needs to fully protect the students and penalize the assailants and we will work towards implementing a gender equality culture."
The new guidelines will be implemented by the end of February next year to prevent secondary damage.
"Currently, there are several sexual violence prevention laws. However, the guidelines are inadequate at times leaving victims no choice but to attend the school where they were victimized at," an education ministry official said.
To better prevent secondary damage, the location of the investigation will be chosen after consulting with the victim and their family. Female police officers will take charge of investigations involving female victims.
The Ministry of Education also plans to create an elementary to high school sexual assault and harassment manual by February.
The government will also recruit 484 additional professional consultants next year bringing the total to 2,715, an increase of 20 percent from this year, to better support the student victims.
Sexual assault prevention education programs will become mandatory for teachers and principals. The government is also seeking to include sexual assault prevention courses for education majors in local universities.
The district education offices will be in charge of the procedures regarding teachers or other school staff members involved in sexual assault claims. An additional department will be established within the education offices, which will be in charge of investigation and deliberation of unwanted sexual encounters.
The results of the investigations will be notified to the victim and the government plans to revise the law so that private school teachers will get the same punishment as public school teachers.
Teachers who are reassigned to a school after receiving disciplinary action for minor sexual abuse will have to take mandatory sexual education courses and undergo individual counseling.
To promote gender equality, the government plans to employ 170 additional teachers in charge of gender equality education programs, while more government-funded research on gender equality will be conducted at universities.
Professors that have been under disciplinary action or accused of sexual assault or harassment will be cut off from research funds and excluded from receiving the fund for a year.
"The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, education and the National Police Agency will work together to counter school 'Me Too,'" Gender Equality minister Jin Sun-mi said. "To prevent accidents from occurring, we will make sure to bring about a culture where gender equality and human rights co-exist."
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