90% of Sexual Violence Victims Are Women... Male Victims Also Increasing Annually

A statistical analysis revealed that 9 out of 10 sexual violence victims are women. Additionally, the proportion of male victims has been gradually increasing each year.

On the 9th, the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center released the '2023 Counseling Statistics and Trends' report. The total number of counseling cases conducted by the center last year was 1,349 (707 individuals), among which 557 people sought counseling for sexual violence for the first time. According to the counseling statistics compiled from these 557 initial clients, women accounted for the majority with 497 individuals (89.2%), and adults made up 65.7%. Male victims numbered 48 (8.6%). The proportion of male victims increased from 5.2% in 2021 to 6.9% in 2022, rising by 1.7 percentage points annually over the past three years.

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By type of sexual violence, forced molestation was the most common with 209 cases (37.5%), followed by rape with 189 cases (33.9%), and sexual harassment with 56 cases (10.1%). Most perpetrators were acquaintances (470 cases, 84.33%), a pattern that the counseling center noted has remained largely unchanged each year. Among adults, workplace-related incidents accounted for the highest proportion at 24.2%, while 50.8% of children and 21.3% of infants were victimized by relatives. Perpetrators aged 20 and over made up 73.8% of the total.

Based on counseling logs from 2021 to 2023, the center separately analyzed 80 cases of sexual violence involving people met online. Female victims accounted for 95.0%, and males 5.0%. This gender distribution was more pronounced than the overall average for sexual violence counseling clients (female 89.2%, male 8.6%). The most common way perpetrators were met was through chat apps (random chat and dating apps) at 35.0%, followed by the internet at 16.3%, social networking services (SNS) at 12.5%, unspecified apps at 8.8%, and messengers (such as KakaoTalk) at 7.5%.

Regarding types of victimization, rape accounted for 55%, followed by camera-based filming offenses at 20%. Notably, sexual violence by people met online often involved multiple overlapping types of harm. Offline incidents accounted for 83.6%, with lodging facilities (23.8%) being the most common location of victimization. Among victims, 37.5% were sexually assaulted after meeting for social purposes such as hobbies. The proportion of adolescent victims was 28.8%, about three times higher than the 9.9% share of adolescents in the 2023 sexual violence counseling statistics.

Among sexual violence victims, 70.4% received counseling directly themselves. The rate of direct counseling cases has steadily increased since entering the 60% range in 2018 and surpassed 70% for the first time this year. The counseling center explained, "This indicates a steady increase in victims who actively seek to address their experiences by visiting the center themselves to share their trauma and pursue proactive responses."

In 2023, the counseling center supported 1,291 sexual violence counseling cases, providing 2,132 instances of support (including overlaps). By type of support, 34.8% involved information provision and counselor opinions, 32.3% psychological and emotional support, and 22.6% legal assistance. Additionally, medical support, official response support beyond legal aid, and institutional referrals were also provided.

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