EDITOR’S LETTER
Hello. The second NEWS HERLIVERY in October is TOPIC EDITION, a collection of articles related to women's issues. Violent crimes that threaten women's survival and safety are dominating newspapers every day, so TOPIC EDITION mainly covers articles related to these issues. While reading the letter, which is a curation of these articles, you may feel frustrated and demoralized by confirming the bleak reality, but I hope that you will gain courage from the voices of women who are striving to open a better future.
In this issue, we first collected articles related to the demolition of the Dongducheon City STD Management Center and examined the current situation and historical significance. The 'Jinju Convenience Store Assault Case' was recognized as a 'misogynistic crime' in the appeal trial. The court ruling that the perpetrator of the 'Busan Roundhouse Kick' case must pay 100 million won in damages to the victim was finalized. We heard expert opinions on the fact that the murder of a teenage girl in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, was a "crime targeting women, not a random crime."
Five years have passed since the ‘Nth Room incident’, but there are criticisms that offline grooming crimes targeting children and adolescents are still in a blind spot of punishment. In the future, those who possess, purchase, store, or view deepfake sexual exploitation materials will also be punished. New punishment regulations have also been established for blackmail using deepfake sexual exploitation materials. The perpetrator of an unsolved sexual assault case that occurred in Incheon in 2017 was caught by the police after seven years. It was shocking to learn that the perpetrator had worked as an administrative officer at a girls’ high school in Gyeonggi Province just before his arrest.
The number of suicide attempts by young women is steadily increasing. Over the past five years, women in their 20s made the most suicide attempts among all genders and ages, and experts analyzed that gender-based violence and experiences of anxiety and frustration are not unrelated to this. A UNICEF survey found that one in eight women around the world has been sexually assaulted before the age of 18. UNICEF noted that the findings “suggest the urgent need for a comprehensive prevention and support strategy to effectively respond to all forms of violence.”
That’s all for this issue of NEWS HERLIVERY. We’ll be back with more in-depth articles with depth and perspective in the next issue. Thank you.
- Best Wishes, Editor Oh Jin-dal-rae
“Dongducheon Sexually Transmitted Disease Management Center Demolition is Like Japan’s ‘Erasing History’”
At the foot of Soyosan Mountain in Sangbongam-dong, Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, there is a venereal disease management center that was operated by the Korean government in the past. From 1973 to 1996, it was a place where women who were diagnosed as carriers of venereal diseases after testing for “comfort women” for the US military were confined until they were cured. Dongducheon City recently began to demolish this building due to the Soyosan development project, but there are also voices calling for the preservation of the building.
On the 23rd, I met with Ahn Kim Jeong-ae (65), co-representative of the Camp Village Women’s Human Rights Solidarity, who is calling for the preservation of the venereal disease management center, at a cafe near the Gyeonggi Provincial Office in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, and heard the reason for her request.
Ahn Kim, who received her doctorate from Inha University for her research on “US military advisory groups in Korea,” is an expert on military human rights issues who served as an instructor at the Korea Military Academy, a researcher at the former Defense and Military Research Institute (now the Military Compilation Research Institute), the head of the Investigation Division 2 of the Ministry of National Defense’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the head of the investigation team for the 1st Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Since the launch of the Women’s Human Rights Solidarity for Camp Towns in 2012, he has served as co-chairman and led the organization continuously except for his time as head of the investigation department of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2019-2021). In 2014, he led a class action lawsuit against the state by women in camp towns and received a ruling from the Supreme Court in September 2022 acknowledging the state’s liability for compensation.
Representative Ahn Kim also recently served as co-chairman of the ‘Joint Countermeasures Committee to Stop the Demolition of the Old Dongducheon STD Management Center’, which 64 organizations including the Women’s Human Rights Solidarity for Camp Towns participated in. He said, “If you look at the second floor of the STD management center building, it is in the form of a military barracks, which clearly shows how Korean militarism treated women,” and “We should preserve the original form of the building and create a museum of the history of US military comfort women to tell the stories of the women who were there.”
The old Dongducheon STD management center is evidence that the Korean government at the time acted as a kind of ‘pimp.’ Despite the existence of the Prevention of Prostitution Act enacted in 1961, the government designated a 2km radius around US military bases as a “special area” and permitted prostitution. Then, after the Nixon Doctrine was announced in 1969, calls for the withdrawal of US troops from Korea grew louder, and in order to appease the US, the government directly jumped into the issue of controlling sexually transmitted diseases that they had been demanding. This is why the Supreme Court acknowledged the state’s responsibility to compensate women in camp towns.
(Lee Jun-hee·Kang Sung-man, Hankyoreh, 24.10.01)
Who and Why Wants to Erase the History of Women's Exploitation
The Dongducheon City Sexually Transmitted Disease Management Center was known to have operated from 1973 to 1996. After being closed for nearly 30 years, it was abandoned until February of last year when Dongducheon City announced that it would purchase the building and site of the former Sexually Transmitted Disease Management Center and develop it into a tourist attraction, sparking controversy over its demolition. Dongducheon Mayor Park Hyung-deok said, “We will resolve residents’ complaints about the abandoned building that has been neglected as an eyesore and an eyesore, and ensure that tourists can enjoy Mt. Soyo in a pleasant and comfortable manner.” Civic groups expressed their opposition to the demolition in April of last year, and the ‘Joint Countermeasures Committee for Stopping the Demolition of the Old Dongducheon Sexually Transmitted Disease Management Center (Joint Countermeasures Committee)’ was formed. Citizens from the Joint Countermeasures Committee held a discussion and staged a one-person protest in front of Dongducheon City Hall. Starting on August 25, they set up a tent in front of the city hall and began a 24-hour sit-in. However, Dongducheon City maintained its position of demolition, and the city council passed a supplementary budget for the demolition. Since September 18, the Gongdaewi has been staging a sit-in protest by setting up tents and tents right in front of the STD Management Center. They take turns guarding the site day and night to prevent demolition.
Why should we preserve the STD Management Center? Choi Hee-shin, an activist from the Gyeonggi Northern Peace Citizens’ Action, said, “This is an important and historical site that shows how Korean women and many people lived in this neighborhood created after the US military came after the Korean War,” and “It is also a place where we can think about what kind of future we should live in.”
After the Korean War, commercial districts targeting the US military, so-called “base towns,” were formed in places like Dongducheon, Uijeongbu, and Paju where US troops were stationed. The Korean government legally prohibited prostitution, but in reality, it allowed, encouraged, and managed it. According to the court ruling, around 1957, when the United Nations Command was moving to Seoul, the Korean government decided to designate US military comfort facilities nationwide to gather comfort women and manage STDs.
The government enacted the Prevention of Prostitution Act in 1961, and while strongly prohibiting prostitution, it established and managed ‘specific areas’ where prostitution was permitted the following year. According to a paper by Professor Park Jeong-mi of the Department of Sociology at Chungbuk National University, there were 13,947 comfort women registered in specific areas nationwide in 1963. Of these, 11,044, or 75%, were residents of Gyeonggi Province.
While public officials praised the comfort women as ‘patriots who earned foreign currency,’ they forcibly took them away under the pretext of controlling sexually transmitted diseases. Violent methods were used, such as ‘suppression’ in which the police, public health centers, and the US military conducted joint crackdowns to arrest women without medical certificates, and ‘contact (tracking investigation)’ in which US soldiers with sexually transmitted diseases pointed out women who had engaged in sexual relations with them. The places where the women were taken were the sexually transmitted disease management centers. Although there was no accurate diagnosis from a doctor, the women were immediately isolated and given penicillin shots.
This policy was due to the ‘ROK-US alliance’, ‘national security’, and ‘foreign currency earning’. Here is the court ruling. “The illegal treatment of sexually transmitted diseases was carried out with the purpose of (the government) using the plaintiffs (comfort women) for national security or foreign currency acquisition. In other words, if foreign soldiers contracted sexually transmitted diseases during prostitution and their health or morale deteriorated, there was concern that this would hinder national security centered on military alliances with foreign countries or foreign currency acquisition through the promotion of prostitution. They focused only on the eradication and reduction of sexually transmitted diseases, while neglecting the comfort women’s basic rights such as physical freedom and their dignity as human beings.”
(Lee Hye-ri, Kyunghyang Shinmun, 24.10.20)
‘Jinju Convenience Store Assault Incident’ Appeal Trial Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison… ‘Misogyny Crime’ Recognized
Last November, a man in his 20s who indiscriminately assaulted a woman he had never met working at a convenience store in Jinju, Gyeongnam Province, because she had short hair was sentenced to three years in prison on appeal.
On the 15th, the 1st Criminal Division of the Changwon District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Ju-yeon) dismissed the appeals of the prosecutor and the defendant in the appeal trial for the defendant indicted on charges of special assault, etc., and sentenced him to three years in prison, the same as the original sentence.
The victim, the victim's lawyer, and women's groups expressed regret over the three-year prison sentence and the fact that the perpetrator's mental state was acknowledged, but evaluated it as significant in that the appellate court, unlike the first trial, acknowledged that this case was a misogynistic crime.
On that day, the appellate court stated, "It is somewhat inappropriate to include the fact that the defendant's words and actions toward the victim and the method of the crime, such as putting the victim's cell phone in a microwave, were absurd as grounds for mental weakness," but added, "That alone cannot be considered an illegal misinterpretation of the law. The court ruled that “even when considering all the evidence, it is insufficient to say that the prosecution has proven the absence of a reason for mental weakness.”
The court stated that “while assaulting the victim, the defendant repeatedly said, ‘You deserve to be hit because you are a feminist,’ and when (another) victim tried to stop him, he said, ‘You are also a man, so why don’t you take the man’s side? That woman is a feminist,’ and assaulted (another) victim.” It also stated that “the defendant’s crime is based on groundless hatred and prejudice against women, and therefore deserves to be criticized for its motive.”
(Kim Se-won, Women News, 24.10.15)
Court confirms 100 million won compensation to Busan ‘roundhouse kick’ perpetrator
The court has finalized a ruling that the perpetrator of the so-called ‘Busan Roundhouse Kick’ case, who brutally assaulted a woman in her 20s with the intent to sexually assault her, must pay the victim 100 million won in compensation.
Judge Choi Young of the Busan District Court Civil Division 3 announced on the 21st that the court has finalized the plaintiff’s favorable ruling in the damages lawsuit filed by victim K against perpetrator Lee Anybody, ordering him to “pay 100 million won.” The court judged that defendant Lee had never appeared in court during the lawsuit and had not submitted a written statement, so it was considered a ‘considered confession’ and accepted the victim’s entire claim. A deemed confession is a ruling that considers the defendant to have confessed to the plaintiff’s claims when he has not responded to the plaintiff’s claims.
Lee was indicted on charges of attempting to sexually assault K on May 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM while he was returning home in Seomyeon, Busanjin-gu, Busan, and then indiscriminately assaulting him in the shared entrance of an officetel to kill him. The Supreme Court confirmed Lee's 20-year prison sentence for attempted rape and murder.
(Kim Young-dong, Hankyoreh, 24.10.21)
Professor Lee Soo-jung: “Suncheon teenage girl murderer ‘smiles’ after achieving goal”
Regarding the fact that Park Dae-seong, who stabbed and killed a teenage female in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, was caught on camera smiling after the murder, Professor Lee Soo-jung of Kyonggi University’s Department of Criminal Psychology said, “This is a case that requires in-depth analysis.”
Appearing on CBS Radio’s “Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show” on the morning of the 2nd, the professor said, “It could be interpreted as a smile that feels satisfaction that I have achieved my goal among those who share anti-social fantasies.”
“I understand that (Park) has quite a history of violence,” the professor said, “He has scars on his face and tattoos on his neck. Normally, tattoos are not on the neck or on the front.”
He said, “Drinking four bottles of alcohol means he is unconscious, but if you look at (Park Dae-sung’s) running away, he runs very reasonably in the opposite direction (from where) the witness appeared,” and “After running away for a certain period of time, he acts leisurely and goes to another bar.”
He continued, “There are anti-social crimes committed by people with many criminal records, but it is common for them to act in hiding or run away after the incident. However, this person (Park Dae-sung) went to a bar where many people were gathered and caused trouble again,” and “Since he attacked (the victim) multiple times, it is difficult to see it as the act of someone who does not remember (the crime) and is unconscious.”
The professor also mentioned the fact that Park Dae-sung had a violent record and said, “We must definitely check what kind of social media (SNS) and internet information he was exposed to right before this incident.”
He said, “Recently, there have been posts on the Internet threatening murder and terror attacks without warning, as if they were competing with each other.” He added, “If a violent person with a criminal record came out of the house armed with a weapon after being exposed to (online posts threatening murder) for a long period of time with the thought, ‘I’m going to commit a record-breaking act that others can see,’ wouldn’t it be possible to interpret Park’s smiling expression (after the crime)?”
(Mun Kyung-keun, Seoul Shinmun, 24.10.02)
Experts on Suncheon Teen Murder: “Crimes targeting women, not random crimes”
killed a teenage female walking down the street with a weapon. The father of the victim, Ms. K (18), reportedly said, “Who knows how a parent feels when they lose their child?” and “I hope the suspect’s personal information is made public and he is appropriately punished.”
On the 30th, News 1 released an interview with Ms. K’s father containing these details. According to Ms. K’s father, Ms. K went out to buy medicine for her father, who was sick, and was murdered on her way home. “The last thing she said on the phone was, ‘Dad, the pharmacy doesn’t have any medicine,’” Ms. K’s father told the media, “I hope our society becomes safe so that no more innocent victims are created.” Ms. K recently passed the qualification exam and reportedly dreamed of becoming a police officer.
Meanwhile, experts pointed out that this case should not be treated as a simple ‘random crime’ just because the suspect murdered Ms. K, a ‘complete stranger.’ This is because the severity of various types of violence based on misogynistic perceptions is blurred and the response cannot help but be lukewarm. (Omitted)
Inspector Heo also emphasized that the basis of misogynistic crimes is that “there is little (social) criticism when a woman is killed.” “Unlike when an elderly person or a child is killed, when a woman, especially a ‘young woman who is out late at night,’ is killed, the (false) responsibility for the victim is raised and the level of criticism for the perpetrator is weakened. The perpetrator must also know that this is because the ‘revenge crime’ targeting women is becoming more serious by the day. Song Ran-hee, head of the Korea Women’s Hotline, said, “As the backlash (opposition to feminism) intensifies, acts of violence targeting women as sexual or anger targets are reaching a level that cannot be controlled socially,” and “Last year, we added the statistical classification of ‘murder by a man you have never met’ for the first time.”
(Choi Yun-ah, Hankyoreh, 24.09.30)
What's more important than the motive for the 'Suncheon woman murder'
The police have not been able to determine the motive for the crime of Park Dae-seong (30), the perpetrator who murdered a teenage female stranger on the street in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, in late September. After the case was sent to the prosecution, the police are investigating whether there was a “strange motive.” The media is covering this case as an “indiscriminate killing” and using the title “Orimujung” as the motive. In 2024, Korean society is saying that it is completely unclear why Park had to chase the victim for 800 meters and kill her.
It is not a natural situation to swing a deadly weapon at someone with whom you have no grudge or financial relationship. This may be the reason why the concept of “random crime” is introduced, which means that the perpetrator indiscriminately selects and commits violence against people with whom he has no direct relationship.
However, we cannot help but ask if that is really okay. Was Ms. A really targeted “indiscriminately”? Is it right to simply dismiss the clearly gendered nature of the victimization in a murder case between strangers as “strangers”? And above all, is the attitude of the state that does not want to make it a social problem that women are easily targeted as easy targets of crime appropriate? This society, which avoids answering these questions, is a “duck in the water” to women.
As soon as the Suncheon incident broke out, they immediately thought of the “Gangnam Station murder case” in 2016. This was because it was similar in that a man killed a woman he had just seen for no reason. At the time, the perpetrator sent several men away from a commercial bathroom and killed the woman as soon as she entered. He also stated that the women had ignored him. This is why voices have grown louder that this incident should be called a hate crime based on misogyny, a targeted murder of women, etc.
However, even then and now, eight years later, the investigative authorities and society as a whole do not recognize the “misogynistic crime.” In official settings, “femicide,” which refers to the murder of a woman by a man, is rarely conceptualized or visualized. This means that in Korea, the murder of a woman by a man is still not considered a crime.
Women are just one type of victims who are indiscriminately sacrificed, and there must be other reasons, so there is absolutely no such thing as something that happens ‘only because they are women.’ Even when those ‘other reasons’ are not visible, they are left in the fog, and the possibility that gender had a key influence is stubbornly ignored. Because we live in such a society, it is even more difficult for us to simply accept the common counterargument that “women were killed because they looked weak, not because they were women.”
(Jung Ji-hye, Press Association News, 24.10.08)
‘Nth Room Case’ 5 Years Later… ‘Offline Grooming’ Still a Blind Spot for Punishment
In 2022, A (18), a high school freshman, met a man in his 40s, B, who introduced himself as a “psychiatrist” on a random chat application. After being gaslighted for over three months by B, who approached her saying he would “give her psychological treatment,” A met B and was sexually assaulted. A immediately reported the incident to the police and appeared in court, but the so-called “grooming,” which involves forming an intimate relationship and making her psychologically dependent on the other person before sexually exploiting her, was not recognized as a crime.
The first trial court found B not guilty, stating, “It is difficult to see the online conversation as intended for sexual exploitation, and it is difficult to see it as adultery by hierarchy, as the 16-year-old victim may have had sexual intercourse on her own judgment.” A, who dropped out of high school after the incident, is still receiving psychiatric treatment due to the shock at the time. Kim Hyun-ah, vice president of the Korean Women Lawyers Association, said, “If there had been no distinction between online and offline in the punishment of grooming, the trial result may have been different.” Five years have passed since the “Nth Room” incident, which sparked public outrage over the grooming and sexual exploitation of minors, but there are still criticisms that offline grooming crimes targeting children and adolescents are still in a blind spot for punishment. As grooming crimes occur both online and offline, voices are growing stronger that the scope of punishment for grooming crimes limited to online should be expanded.
Recently, the police and civic group officials explain that the method of building intimacy with victims through social media (SNS) frequently used by children and adolescents and then meeting offline to commit sexual crimes has become particularly frequent. Lee Hyun-sook, the representative of Taktin Tomorrow, which supports victims of sexual violence against adolescents, explained, “They approach psychologically vulnerable adolescents and offer to provide counseling, but they do not bring up sexual topics online and only reveal their true colors after meeting in real life.” According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s ‘Analysis of Trends in the Occurrence and Incident of Sexual Crimes Against Children and Adolescents,’ the most common perpetrator was ‘someone they met through internet chatting, etc.’ in 33.7% of cases.
(Kim Ye-seul, Seoul Shinmun, 24.10.06)
Police Investigate 921 Deepfake Sex Crimes This Year… 474 Arrested
The National Police Agency announced on the 16th that it had received and investigated 921 cases of deepfake (fake video) sexual crimes from January 1st to the 14th of this month and arrested 474 suspects.
Based on the time when the police began to crack down on the spread of Telegram-based deepfake sexual crimes (August 28th), the total number of reported cases was 445 before the crackdown and 476 after the crackdown.
On a daily average, it increased by more than five times from 1.85 cases before the crackdown to 9.92 cases after the crackdown.
If we divide the 474 suspects arrested by age group, teenagers accounted for the largest proportion, with 381 cases, or 80.4%. Juvenile offenders (10 years old or older but under 14 years old) accounted for 71 cases (15.0%).
(Yoon Bo-ram, Yonhap News, 24.10.16)
Government: “Possession or viewing of deepfake sexual exploitation material will be punished”
In the future, possession or viewing of sexually exploitative materials created using deepfake technology will be subject to criminal punishment.
On the 10th, the government passed a bill to revise the Special Act on the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes, which punishes possession or viewing of deepfake sexually exploitative materials.
The revised bill includes a provision that possession, purchase, storage, or viewing of deepfake sexually exploitative materials can result in imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won.
In particular, the statutory sentence for editing or distributing deepfake sexually exploitative materials was increased from 5 years or less to 7 years or less, and in cases of profit-making purposes, the statutory sentence was increased from 7 years or less to 3 years or more.
In addition, a new punishment provision was established for blackmail using deepfake sexually exploitative materials, imposing a sentence of imprisonment for at least 1 year.
In addition, the ‘Proclamation of the Act on the Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence, etc.’, which states that the deletion of data related to deepfake sexual crimes and illegal filming and support for the recovery of victims’ daily lives are national responsibilities, and the ‘Proclamation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Adolescents from Sexual Abuse’, which strengthens the police’s investigative authority along with punishment of perpetrators for acts of intimidation and coercion targeting children and adolescents, were also passed.
Among the three proclamations related to deepfake sexual crimes, the punishment law will be implemented immediately after it is published in the Official Gazette after receiving presidential approval.
(Oh In-ae, Legal Newspaper, 24.10.11)
67% of teachers “oppose the production of yearbooks”… Concerns about deepfake damage
Nine out of ten teachers expressed concerns that graduation albums could be used for illegal composite materials such as deepfakes. In response, seven out of ten teachers expressed their opposition to the production of graduation albums.
The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations conducted a 'Teacher Survey on the Status of Graduation Album Production in the Aftermath of Deepfakes' targeting 3,537 kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school teachers nationwide from September 30 to October 9 and announced the results on the 15th.
According to the survey, 93.1% of teachers responded that they were 'concerned' about deepfakes, photo composites, and portrait rights violations using graduation album photos (very concerned 69.5%, somewhat concerned 23.6%). When asked whether graduation albums should continue to be produced, 67.2% responded that they 'should not be produced', more than twice as many as those who responded that they 'should be produced' (32.8%). However, the reality is that most schools are making graduation albums for the purpose of records and memories. When asked whether their schools make graduation albums, 97.1% responded that they do. (Omitted)
Teachers also expressed concerns about taking pictures with students in everyday life due to concerns about deepfakes. When asked whether they were concerned about problems such as illegal photo manipulation when taking pictures with students during field trips and school life in addition to graduation albums, 83.9% answered “yes” (very much so 47.5%, somewhat so 36.4%).
Students were also reluctant to include pictures in their graduation albums. When asked whether there were increasing numbers of students who were reluctant to include pictures or wanted to exclude them, 45.5% answered “yes” (very much so 13.5%, somewhat so 32.0%).
(Shin So-yun, Hankyoreh, 24.10.15)
Accomplice in unsolved sexual assault case from 7 years ago… Caught, turns out to be a high school administrative officer
An accomplice in an unsolved sexual assault case that occurred in Incheon in 2017 has been caught by the police after 7 years.
On the 14th, the Bucheon Ojeong Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced that they arrested and detained Mr. A, a 30-year-old educational administrative officer, on charges of special rape.
Mr. A is accused of sexually assaulting a woman with his accomplice Mr. B in a tent next to a festival site in Incheon in September 2017.
This case remained unsolved because the culprit was not found, but Mr. B was caught by the police in another sexual assault case in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province last year, revealing Mr. A's past crimes.
The police confirmed that Mr. B's genetic information (DNA) matched the DNA obtained from the scene of the 2017 incident, and later obtained a statement from Mr. B that he committed the crime with Mr. A.
Mr. A worked as an administrative officer at a girls' high school in Gyeonggi Province until his arrest, and admitted all charges during the police investigation.
(Son Hyun-kyu, Yonhap News, 24.10.14)
Women on the brink of death… 34 women in their teens and twenties attempt suicide every day
The number of suicide attempts by young women has been steadily increasing, with 12,287 women in their teens and 20s attempting suicide last year. Experts analyzed that gender-based violence and experiences of anxiety and frustration are not unrelated to this.
According to the analysis of the 'Suicide Attempt Status from 2020 to June 2024' data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, 39,404 people attempted suicide last year, of which 12,287 were women in their teens and 20s. Women in their teens and 20s attempted suicide accounted for 31% of the total population.
The percentage of women in their teens and 20s attempting suicide has been consistently in the 30% range since 2020. In the first half of 2024 alone, 4,788 people attempted suicide, 12,000 (29%) in 2020, 12,224 (33%) in 2021, 11,969 (32%) in 2022, and 12,287 (31%) in 2023. As of last year, 34 women in their teens and 20s attempted suicide every day.
In particular, women in their 20s attempted suicide the most among all genders and ages over the past five years. Last year, 7,329 women in their 20s attempted suicide. This is more than twice the number of men in their 20s (3,067) who attempted suicide in the same year. The number of female teenagers who attempted suicide was 7,417 in 2022, 7,993 in 2021, and 6,866 in 2020.
The problem is that the number of suicide attempts by female teenagers is increasing rapidly. The number of female teenagers who attempted suicide in 2020 was 3,334, but it has steadily increased from 4,231 (2021) → 4,552 (2022) → 4,958 (2023). Last year, the number increased by 406 compared to 2022, and female teenagers recorded the largest increase compared to other genders and ages last year. (Omitted)
Professor Lee Min-ah (Sociology) of Chung-Ang University said, "Young women face limitations in their position in the labor market. Looking at the labor market situation since 2018, the ratio of irregular part-time workers has increased rapidly among young women, and the instability and difficulties of the labor market have been concentrated on young women. In addition, social pressure and control on young women regarding their appearance and behavior are severe. They are also much more exposed to the risk of gender violence, and experience anxiety and frustration from the social environment."
Rep. Nam In-soon emphasized, "If we approach the suicide of young women only as a psychopathological problem, it will not be easy to improve or resolve it, and an in-depth analysis of the social structural and cultural causes that cause suicide is necessary." "In addition, the government should focus more on improving structural problems such as discrimination and serious gender violence in the labor market, focusing on individual young women, not just support policies that presuppose marriage and childbirth."
(Park Jeong-yon, Pressian, 24.10.14)
“1 in 8 women worldwide are victims of sexual violence before the age of 18”
A survey by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) found that one in eight women around the world have experienced sexual violence before the age of 18.
According to the results of a global survey on child and adolescent sexual violence announced by UNICEF on the 10th (local time), more than 370 million girls and women have experienced sexual violence, including rape, before the age of 18.
If the scope is expanded to include non-contact forms of sexual violence, such as online violence or verbal abuse, the number of women who have experienced sexual violence before the age of 18 is estimated at 650 million. This means that one in five women around the world have experienced it.
UNICEF pointed out that the results of this survey "suggest that a comprehensive prevention and support strategy is urgently needed to effectively respond to all forms of violence."
“Child sexual abuse is a stain on our moral conscience,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “It often occurs in places where children should feel safe, by people they know and trust, and causes deep and lasting trauma.” (Omitted)
UNICEF emphasized that “most child sexual abuse occurs during adolescence, with a sharp increase between the ages of 14 and 17. Children who are sexually abused are at greater risk of repeated abuse,” and that “intervention during adolescence is important to break the cycle and mitigate the long-term effects of trauma.”
She added that “victims continue to suffer trauma into adulthood, and are at increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse, social isolation, mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, and may have difficulty forming healthy relationships.”
(Kim Se-won, Women News, 24.10.10)
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