Seoul City to Hold Online Forum on Sexual Harassment Prevention for 'Small-scale Businesses' on the 24th

Policy Proposals from Government, Academia, and Field Experts for Small Workplaces as Blind Spots in Sexual Harassment Prevention and Regulation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul With You Seoul Workplace Sexual Harassment and Violence Prevention Center announced on the 22nd that it will hold an online forum on the 24th regarding the current status and challenges of sexual harassment and violence in small-scale workplaces where legal and institutional sexual harassment prevention systems are weak.

First, Sim Sun-hee, head of the Gender, Body, and Labor Research Institute, will present on "The Current Status, Sexual Violence Actual Conditions, and Characteristics of Small-scale Workplaces." Last year, the With You Center conducted a study on the status and characteristics of small-scale workplaces with fewer than 30 employees and the actual conditions of sexual harassment in Seoul’s small-scale workplaces, led by senior researcher Sim Sun-hee. Through in-depth interviews with victims, employment equality counseling office activists, sexual violence counseling centers, and labor union activists, the study analyzed various victimization conditions that were not revealed in previous quantitative research.

Next, Park Sun-young, senior research fellow at the Korean Women's Development Institute, will present on "Standards and Actual Conditions of Sexual Harassment Judgments Based on Precedents and Decisions." After the presentation, discussants including Hwang Hyun-sook (director of the Seoul Women Workers Association), Park Gwi-cheon (professor at Ewha Womans University Law School), Choi Young-moo (team leader of the Women’s Rights Planning Team at the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Women’s Rights Office), and Park Gyo-young (officer of the Women’s Employment Policy Division at the Ministry of Employment and Labor) will participate in an in-depth discussion on tasks and policies for preventing and eradicating sexual harassment in small-scale workplaces.

The forum will point out the reality that small-scale workplaces with fewer than 30 employees are in a blind spot for sexual harassment regulation and prevention due to the lax standards of laws related to sexual harassment and violence. Workplace sexual harassment is a labor rights violation issue that destabilizes victims’ employment conditions and work environment and adversely affects work performance, and laws and systems related to workplace sexual harassment have been established.

Furthermore, to regulate and prevent sexual harassment and violence in small-scale workplaces, the forum will emphasize the need for △ development of sexual harassment response manuals tailored for small-scale workplaces △ strengthening employer obligations △ enhancing the effectiveness of workplace sexual harassment prevention education △ institutional support to review organizational culture and work environment.

Since its opening in June 2020, the Seoul With You Center has been expanding free support projects to prevent sexual harassment and establish autonomous resolution systems in small-scale workplaces with fewer than 30 employees.

Center Director Park Hyun-i said, “For the sexual harassment prevention system support project targeting small-scale workplaces to be effective, cooperation and support from local governments such as the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which have the authority to regulate and inspect private businesses, are necessary,” adding, “We hope that meaningful policy tasks for establishing sexual harassment prevention and victim support systems will be explored through this forum.”