After the sexual violence incident in the Prosecution Service was disclosed in January 29^th, the #MeToo movement has expanded towards various sectors of the society. This pouring of “Me Too” is Korean women’s sympathetic and communal response to the social structural violence, not to an individual unlucky experience. To change the structure, #MeToo movement has extended to #WithYou movement. President Moon Jae-in stated on 26^th that “I support (the #MeToo movement)” and that the Government will come up with proper measures. On 27^th, the Government announced “Complementary Policy against Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence in the Public Institutions” with the establishment of a cross-government council with the Minister of Gender Equality and Family as a chair.

This policy includes the opening of Sexual Violence Complaint Center in the public institutions during one hundred days from March, the expulsion of perpetrator from the public office who gets punished by the fine or more, Sexual Violence Complaint Online Center for universities and schools, supporting system for victim such as free legal aid and psychotherapy aid, and the recommendation of hiring nongovernmental experts to deal with sexual harassment issue within the public institutions. Korean Women’s Associations United welcomes the Government’s will to resolve the problem and its coming up with various measures. However, we raise a question how much these policies can produce actual effects.

This policy focuses only on the public institutions. What does the Ministry of Employment and Labor do? As we can see from the Hansaem incident, sexual violence prevails in the nongovernmental areas as well. It is very doubtful if the Government has enough will to solve the problem. The Government should announce a policy not only for the public offices but also for the private sectors.

Also, the Government need to inspect the existing petition process before establishing a new Complaint Center. Hiring nongovernmental experts to deal with sexual harassment issue within the public institutions should be mandatory, not just recommended, and the civilian experts should strengthen monitoring the petition-response process to prevent re-victimization.

In response to many victims’ fear of counteraccusation and re-victimization, the Government should clearly deliver its will to help victims speaking up. In so doing, voice-restricting laws such as false accusation and defamation regarding facts with hostility should be reconsidered and revised.

Victims courageously place petitions despite the hostile social atmosphere with suspicion, because they want the perpetrators to be properly punished and they want the society without sexual violence. We urge the Government to declare its strong will to punish perpetrators to help victims getting over.

In order to effectively implement the various policies announced, the Government should vest the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family with actual authority to control the matter. Other than the cross-government council, each related department also should construct an effective response system to problem. 

Women in the last Candlelight square urged the removal of sexist social culture and sexual violence as well as the regime change. It is time for the society to answer to these women’s demand. We hope the recent movements of #SexualViolenceWithinOOO and #MeToo provide the foundation for the uprooting of sexism and sexual violence in Korean society. We will keep inspecting the Government and other social groups and urging them to come up with actual measures.

2018. 02. 28.

Korean Women’s Associations United

Seven regional branches and twenty-eight affiliated associations

[Remark] The Complementary Policy Needs Total Complement—Towards “Complementary Policy against Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence in the Public Institutions”

The Government announced “Complementary Policy against Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence in the Public Institutions” in February 27^th. It includes the expulsion of perpetrator, the opening of the Sexual Violence Complaint Center during one hundred days from March, and the establishment of a cross-government council with the Minister of Gender Equality and Family as a chair. However, this is not the time to devise a policy exclusively for the public institutions. It is time for exhaustive, revolutionary, and fundamental measures. The Government does not understand the gravity of this issue. In a recent Blue House petition, more than two hundred people are urging for the mandatory feminist education in elementary, middle, and high schools. To this fundamental measure proposed by the people, the Government does not even respond.

Let’s take a look at the complementary policy announced. Yes, a cross-governmental control tower is necessary. Yes, we agree the idea of having the Minister of Gender Equality and Family as a chair. Yet, the problem lies on the small size of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Its budget scale is equivalent only to 0.42% of the Ministry of Justice, 1.87% of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and 9.33% of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Ministry of Gender Equality and Family also lacks human resources to implement policies. The Government announced that it would take measures to the incidents reported in an online platform of the Women’s Human Rights Institute of Korea, but there is no plan to expand budget and people for implementing the measure. Ministry of Gender Equality and Family cannot work as a control tower without the actual strengthening of its position within the governmental structure, and without more budget and more people.

Equality Hotline of the Korean Women Workers Association received 672 calls in 2017 about sexual harassment at work. 56.5% of these calls came from small-scale workplaces with less-than-thirty workers. Female workers tend to have jobs at small-scale workplaces. Bosses occupy 60.5% of the perpetrators in workplace with less-than-four workers and 55.6% of the perpetrators in workplace with five-to-nine workers. Within this structure, it is very difficult even to separate perpetrator and victim at work and take actual measures. The first place any governmental policy should turn to is not the most easily manageable sector but the blind spots like these.

The current procedures for sexual harassment in the workplace have serious problems. The Prosecution Service indicted only 9 out of 2,190 cases reported to the Ministry of Employment and Labor from 2012 to 2016. Only 298 cases were punished by the fine. Sometimes, labor inspectors, who are in full charge of the judgement of sexual harassment at work, provoked re-victimization. This is why labor inspectors with gender equality consciousness should be more recruited. The Police and the Prosecution Service are no better than labor inspectors in the workplace. Some victims have heard insulting remarks from the very police officers they had asked for help, such as “Cause you are pretty,” or “Your face doesn’t deserve sexual harassment.” There is urgent need for gender equality consciousness among the people in charge of the whole procedure. The branch offices of the Ministry of Employment and Labor should bring back the Women’s Employment Division that the Lee Myung-bak administration abolished. Problems cannot be resolved without proper governmental organization for discussion and implementation.

Legal amendment should be seriously considered as well—whether the current period of prescription of a public prosecution is too short or not, whether the current penal provisions are too light or not. We should think hard about why penetrators are not properly punished, that is to say, why social justice does not work. Moreover, we also need to critically question the culture of the entire society. Prevalent sexual objectification in mass media and everyday life protects perpetrators and tortures victims. Why does the Government’s gender equal workplace policy focus on public institution only?

The Government should understand what is at stake right now. Women’s protests are the second Candlelight Revolution. No more sexual violence should be allowed. Women are ready to change the world. The Government should come up with active and exhaustive measures!

2018. 2. 27

Korean Women Workers Association, Seoul Women Workers Association, Inchon Women Workers Association, Puchon Women Workers Association, Ansan Women Workers Association, Suwon Women Workers Association, North Cholla Women Workers Association, Gwangju Women Workers Association, Masan-Changwon Women Workers Association, Pusan Women’s Association, Kyungju Women Workers Association, Daegu Women Workers Association

An urgent discussion session was held in February 27^th.