Ministry of Gender Equality Strengthens Response to 'Gender Violence'... Considering Introduction of Corrective Order Authority for Sexual Violence in the Public Sector

Enactment of Stalking Victim Protection Act, Expansion of Free Legal Support
Mandatory Leave and Department Reassignment for Sexual Harassment and Assault Victims
Consideration of New Correction Order Authority for Sexual Harassment and Assault in Public Sector
Public Disclosure of Heads of Institutions Not Participating in Sexual Harassment Prevention Education
Promotion of Lowering Debt Amount for Child Support Exit Ban Requests

The Stalking Victim Protection Act will be enacted, and measures to protect victims will be mandated by law. A corrective order authority will also be established for sexual harassment and sexual violence cases in the public sector.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) announced its "2022 Major Work Plan" containing these details. MOGEF will first build a more thorough gender violence response system. Through the enactment of the Stalking Victim Protection Act, victim protection and support will be strengthened. To protect sexual violence victims, the ministry plans to mandate that heads of institutions or personnel managers grant leave or reassign departments. Amendments to the Framework Act on Gender Equality and the Sexual Violence Prevention Act will introduce an obligation to prohibit disadvantageous treatment of sexual violence victims and reporters.

For sexual harassment and sexual violence cases in public institutions where there are multiple victims or serious incidents involving heads of institutions, on-site inspections and responses will be strengthened, and sanctions will be prepared for institutions that fail to comply with corrective and supplementary demands. If public institutions related to sexual violence cases do not comply with recommendations from the National Human Rights Commission, MOGEF will consider exercising corrective order authority. From this year, the list of heads of institutions who did not participate in sexual harassment prevention education will also be disclosed to the media.

To strengthen responsibility for child support enforcement, the debt amount criterion for requesting travel bans will be lowered from the current 50 million KRW, and the emergency support income criterion will be relaxed from 60% to 75% of the median income. A pilot project will be launched to provide 200,000 KRW per month in child-rearing expenses to adolescent parents aged 24, and to reduce the burden on working single parents, 30% of earned and business income will be deducted when selecting recipients for child-rearing support. The target group for menstrual product support for vulnerable youth will be expanded 2.1 times from ages 11?18 to ages 9?24.

To improve female representation in the private sector and close the gender gap in the labor market, the gender composition of executives and gender wage gap of listed companies will be announced in August and September next year, respectively. The integrated service linking career-interrupted women with Saeil Centers for employment will expand its target from 1,500 to 2,500 people, and employment retention and post-career management will be strengthened. A pilot project to improve gender impact assessments and gender-responsive budgeting and accounting systems will also be promoted this year.

To support the elderly survivors of Japanese military comfort women, the living stabilization allowance will be increased from 1.55 million KRW to 1.63 million KRW per month, and nursing care expenses from 1.62 million KRW to 2.9 million KRW per month. Consulting to preserve research and privately held materials of the Japanese Military Comfort Women Issue Research Institute will be expanded, and efforts will focus on spreading international consensus through support for UNESCO records registration and other means.

Minister Jeong Young-ae of MOGEF stated, "During this difficult time when everyone is exhausted due to COVID-19, we will carefully monitor the field to ensure no policy blind spots occur, and strengthen support by standing with career-interrupted women, adolescent parents, single-parent families, at-risk youth, and victims of violence."

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