Special Education for the Prevention of Digital Sexual Crimes
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The police have launched proactive prevention activities regarding the unprecedented situation of online school openings potentially leading to 'digital school violence.'
According to the National Police Agency on the 20th, the police will operate a 'New Semester School Violence Intensive Management Period' until June 9. What is different from previous years is that online school openings began on the 9th with third-year middle and high school students. From that day, all grades, including the remaining first to third grades of elementary school, started online school openings. As the government extended 'social distancing' until the 5th of next month, it is expected to take more time before formal in-person attendance resumes.
The police believe that as students' main educational environment shifts online, the sites of school violence are also likely to move from schools to social network services (SNS) and other platforms. In fact, according to the '2019 Cyber Violence Survey' announced by the Korea Communications Commission in January, one in four students (26.9%) experienced cyber violence. The types of victimization varied, including verbal abuse, defamation, exclusion, and sexual violence.
To prevent digital school violence, the police plan to actively utilize the Ministry of Education's online class platforms. They will identify the form of online classes at each school; if it is a 'one-way class,' they will post school violence prevention promotional and educational materials on the online bulletin board. If it is a 'two-way class' where teachers and students communicate in real time, School Police Officers (SPO) will be deployed to provide school violence prevention education and serve as communication channels.
In particular, special education to prevent digital sex crimes, which surfaced due to the Telegram 'Nth Room' case, is also planned. SPOs will provide lectures on the actual conditions by crime type, investigation cases, and reporting procedures. Additionally, the police will carry out guidance and protection activities for at-risk youth. Through collaboration with related organizations and SNS, they will identify at-risk youth outside of school and home and continue counseling activities using non-face-to-face channels such as video calls. A police official stated, "We will carry out youth guidance and protection activities suited to the changed online and offline environment."
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