Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Promote Legislation for 'Stalking Victim Protection Act'

3-Year Cycle Stalking Survey and Prevention Education Conducted
Includes Prohibition of Workplace Disadvantages for Stalking Victims and Others

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is conducting a stalking survey and promoting legislation of the ‘Stalking Victim Protection Act,’ which specifies emergency protection for stalking victims and prohibits disadvantages in the workplace.

On the 26th, the Ministry held the ‘5th Committee on the Prevention of Violence Against Women’ at the Government Seoul Office to review the implementation and evaluation results of the 2020 Basic Plan for the Prevention of Violence Against Women and reported on the promotion of legislation for the Stalking Victim Protection Act.

Through policy research and field meetings, the Ministry plans to legislate the ‘Stalking Victim Protection Act,’ which includes the basis for stalking surveys and victim support. They plan to accelerate the enactment of the law after public opinion collection procedures such as legislative notice. Although the Stalking Punishment Act was enacted on the 21st, it lacks provisions for victim protection, so victim support is currently provided through domestic violence and sexual violence facilities.

The key points of the Stalking Victim Protection Act are ▲ conducting stalking surveys and prevention education every three years ▲ prohibiting disadvantages in the workplace for stalking victims, respecting the intentions of victims when providing support, and mandating confidentiality ▲ supporting school transfers and enrollment for families of stalking victims ▲ providing a basis for stalking victim support at domestic violence and sexual violence victim support institutions ▲ emergency protection for stalking victims, measures by investigative agencies for on-site response and investigation of stalking reports, and penalty provisions to enhance the effectiveness of crime prevention.

On this day, the Ministry checked whether systems to prevent secondary damage within government organizations were established and conducted inspections targeting institutions that had not established guidelines. Among the 485 institutions subject to inspection, 12% (58 institutions) had not submitted guidelines, and the Ministry is encouraging the establishment of such guidelines.

Additionally, regarding the on-site inspection results and requests for improvements related to sexual harassment incidents in the Air Force and Navy on the 13th, the Ministry will continuously monitor the implementation status of the Ministry of National Defense’s measures and strengthen prevention of sexual violence and victim protection support within the military.

Minister Jeong Young-ae of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said, "Based on this year’s achievements such as the enactment of the Stalking Punishment Act and institutionalizing the inspection of procedures for handling sexual violence and sexual harassment cases in the public sector, we will build a more thorough response system to violence against women, including preparing the Stalking Victim Protection Act."

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