[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Soyoung] A middle school student has posted a petition asking for help to prevent the sentence of her step-grandfather, who sexually assaulted her, from being reduced, sparking public outrage.
On the 8th, a petition titled "The sexual assault victim is trembling in the facility" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.
The petitioner is a 16-year-old female student living in a facility in Seoul, who claims that she was sexually assaulted by her step-grandfather in 2019 when she was in the first year of middle school. The student also stated that a previous petition about the same abuse gained 40,000 signatures and that the perpetrator was sentenced to six years in prison.
The petitioner appealed, "Currently, my parents have a restraining order due to child abuse, and my step-grandfather is living in a facility due to imprisonment for sexual assault," adding, "When my parents occasionally contact me, all they say is to forgive him because they worry about my grandfather."
She continued, "In fact, at that time, I cried and refused to go to the facility," and revealed her life in five different facilities over the course of a year after the incident. "There is no one by my side who truly loves and guides me, so I sometimes fall into bad paths," she said. "In fact, after moving to the facility, the only things I learned were self-harm and transactional relationships."
The petitioner said, "I am afraid that my friends will distance themselves after knowing my past, and my heart aches because I cannot take a step closer to my dreams," and pleaded, "I want to appreciate and love myself. Please help me meet a new family."
Meanwhile, she expressed, "My grandfather will be released from prison when I turn 20," and "The rule is that I have to leave the facility when I turn 20, so I am scared and very frightened."
She added, "There is no one to protect or look after me in the future. I don't want to go back to my parents, and I want to meet parents who love me. Although adapting to a new environment will be difficult, I believe that nothing is impossible if I try."
The petitioner has posted seven petitions in total, including this one. Previously, she posted a petition stating, "Please make laws victim-centered, not perpetrator-centered, so that sexual crimes are not treated as trivial," expressing her desire for strong punishment for sex offenders.
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