Although the recent #MeToo movement in Korea has encouraged many to open up about their experiences of sexual assault and harassment, the victims often end up suffering secondary victimization by third parties who cast doubt on their claims and pass judgment.

Addressing growing concerns over secondary victimization, a women’s rights activist on Wednesday urged for changes to the law and policies, adding that society should stop expecting victims to behave in a certain way. 

“Current victim support policies only help those who have been ‘confirmed’ as victims. And often, victims are expected to act ‘like victims’ -- crying, intimidated and lethargic,” Bae Bog-joo, head of the Sexual Violence Relief Association, said during a seminar at Ewha Womans University.

“Faced with such expectations, victims who stand up for their rights are denied the support they deserve, and others lose the power to speak about their experiences and rights.”

Bae talked about how the law and policies are closely related to society’s perspectives on sex-related issues and women.

“It is a widespread view that sexual assault cases should involve physical violence and force. And secondary victimization of sex crime victims stems from such narrow interpretations,” she said.

Bae also highlighted police investigation methods that demand consistent and detailed testimonies from victims.

“Under the current law, there is a lot of room for legal disputes concerning sexual intercourse without consent. If a victim had not resisted enough against the assault, it is no longer a crime,” she explained. “The law and policies should be changed to take into account the circumstances and relationships between the people involved.”

Regarding the education system, Bae criticized current sex education in schools, saying that it only focuses on “protecting” victims by instilling fear in students, rather than teaching why each individual should be respected.

During the seminar, which was co-hosted by the Police Human Rights Center and Institute for Gender and Law of Ewha Womans University, the police also talked about the shortcomings of attitudes toward victims.

“Despite our increasing efforts, it is true that secondary victimization still occurs during criminal and judicial proceedings,” said Kwak Mi-kyung, a police officer from Dalseo Police Station in Daegu. “We are working to come up with a program to train specialists who can properly interview the sexual crime victims.”

She explained that since 2010, some local police stations have implemented interview protocol developed for children and people with disability, in which a person voluntarily talks about an incident and the police organize the facts.

Seo Hye-jin, a lawyer defending sexual assault victims, also said the expansion of legal support for victims would reduce secondary victimization that occurs during judicial procedures.

“Since 2013, a system has been introduced to offer legal support for sex crime victims through which they can ask for a public attorney to take up their case,” Seo said. “But only 1 out of 6 victims in reported cases appear to have received aid.

“In many cases, victims lack legal knowledge and the language to describe the incidents. By having legal support, they would be better advocated.”

Experts urge for changes in law, policies to reduce secondary harm from sex crimes

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)