Comprehensive Failures in Air Force Sexual Violence Response... Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Reports "No Follow-up on Victim Protection"

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Announces On-Site Inspection Results of the 20th Fighter Wing and 15th Special Mission Wing
No Regulations for Post-Report on Victim Protection Measures... Inadequate Prevention of Secondary Damage
No System for Sexual Harassment Counselors to Instruct Commanders on Necessary Victim Protection Actions
Sexual Harassment Review Committee Never Operated, Disciplinary Committee Voting Rights Limited to Internal Members Only

On the 6th, mourners visited the funeral hall of Staff Sergeant Lee, a victim of sexual harassment in the Air Force, set up at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to pay their respects. / Seongnam - Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] It has been confirmed that the Air Force's post-response system and measures for sexual violence, as well as prevention of secondary damage, were comprehensively inadequate in relation to the death of a victim of sexual harassment in the Air Force.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced on the 22nd the results of on-site inspections conducted on the 16th and 18th at the 20th Fighter Wing (including the Air Force Headquarters) and the 15th Special Mission Wing.

According to the report, the Air Force received virtually failing evaluations in areas including ▲ prevention of sexual harassment and sexual violence and operation of related systems ▲ victim protection and prevention of secondary damage ▲ operation status of incident handling systems and preventive education.

Although there are relevant regulations and manuals for handling sexual violence cases and supporting victims, they did not function properly on the ground. While immediate reporting to the Air Force Gender Equality Center and the Ministry of National Defense is mandatory after an incident occurs, there were no regulations for follow-up reporting on the progress of victim protection measures. Regarding victim protection, there was no system to inspect and take action after the sexual grievance counselor reported necessary protection measures to the commander.

The manual stipulates victim protection regulations as principles (such as assigning same-gender lawyers and investigators, separating perpetrators and victims), but the conditions to realistically implement these were insufficient, and guidance to victims was lacking when measures were difficult to take. There was no practical education to prevent secondary damage, and no checklist regarding the role of commanders, resulting in a lack of systematic response.

Only regulations concerning the Sexual Grievance Deliberation Committee, which is central to the incident handling system, exist, but it has never been operated, leading to insufficient opportunities to discuss measures for victims and perpetrators, prevention of secondary damage, and recurrence prevention plans.

Following investigations and inquiries, a disciplinary committee composed of internal and external members is convened, but external members have no voting rights, and decisions were made solely based on internal members' opinions. Regarding preventive education, although the completion rate is high, it is often conducted as large-scale group training with over 500 officers, and content focused on case-based prevention of secondary damage is lacking.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family stated, "We will share the on-site inspection results with the Ministry of National Defense and request that major improvements be reflected when establishing recurrence prevention measures through the Ministry of National Defense’s civilian-military joint committee and the dedicated TF for improving sexual violence prevention systems." They added, "We will also monitor the implementation status of recurrence prevention measures through the Women’s Violence Prevention Committee and others."