Gwangju City Goes All Out to Protect Victims of Digital Sex Crimes

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 20th that it is making every effort to provide various support measures ranging from victim counseling to illegal filming material deletion support, investigation and legal assistance, and treatment and recovery to protect and assist victims of digital sex crimes.

First, when a victimization occurs, various support for recovery such as medical care, legal assistance, and admission to protective facilities can be received at three sexual violence counseling centers.

The sexual violence counseling centers work in cooperation with the Korea Women's Human Rights Institute's Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center to monitor distribution channels and immediately delete illegal filming materials upon discovery to quickly block their spread and prevent further damage.

Digital sex crimes refer to sexual harassment committed in cyberspace or social networking services (SNS) by filming someone's body without consent using cameras or other media, distributing, threatening to distribute, storing, or displaying such materials. The Nth Room case, which caused national outrage last year, is a representative example.

Gwangju City is strengthening prevention and response to digital sex crimes by collaborating with related organizations such as the Gwangju Police Agency and sexual violence counseling centers to prepare and implement multifaceted countermeasures.

Starting with the enactment of the "Basic Ordinance on the Prevention of Violence Against Women" in March last year, a "Survey on Measures to Respond to Digital Sexual Violence" was conducted from June to December last year, based on which the "Ordinance on the Protection and Support of Digital Sex Crime Victims" was enacted this year.

To prevent victimization of adolescents vulnerable to sex crimes, digital sex crime prevention education is being conducted at two Youth Sexual Culture Centers in Gwangju, and the content related to digital sex crimes will be further expanded in various violence prevention education programs for citizens and public officials.

In addition, campaigns and promotional activities will be continuously promoted to raise awareness about digital sex crimes and to spread the understanding that simply viewing illegal filming materials can also make one an accomplice.

According to related laws such as the Sexual Violence Punishment Act, those who illegally film another person's body or distribute such materials face imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine of up to 50 million won. If distributed on the internet, the penalty is imprisonment for three years or more, and viewers face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Moreover, threats using illegal filming materials and the production and distribution of deepfake pornography are subject to heavy penalties.

Gwak Hyun-mi, Director of the Women's and Family Bureau of the city, said, "Digital sex crimes are serious criminal acts that severely violate and trample on individual human rights and must be eradicated." She added, "With the full implementation of the autonomous police system in July, we will do our best to cooperate with investigative agencies to prevent crimes and protect victims."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.