"Social Safety Net Needed" Warning Signs of Sexual Crimes on University Campuses... Solutions

Ministry of Education Establishes Measures for Access Security Management and Night Patrols
Calls for Strict Punishment and Awareness Improvement

There are calls for practical measures against sexual crimes on university campuses following the Inha University sexual assault and death case. On the afternoon of the 17th, first-year male student C, who is accused of sexually assaulting a classmate on the Inha University campus and causing the victim to fall from a building and die, entered the Incheon District Court in Michuhol-gu, Incheon City, for a pre-arrest detention hearing.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Sexual crimes on university campuses are occurring one after another. The government announced that it would strengthen safety management such as access security control and nighttime patrols in response to the recent sexual assault death case at Inha University, but there are calls for serious consideration of practical safety nets, including necessary disciplinary measures.

According to the legal community, on the 19th, A (21), a Yonsei University student, was arrested and indicted for illegally filming a classmate in the adjacent stall after entering the women's restroom. A is accused of secretly entering the women's restroom in front of the Yonsei University Medical Library in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, at around 6:50 p.m. on the 4th and illegally filming a classmate in the next stall.

A, who was hiding in the restroom and caught in the act, denied the charges during police investigation, claiming he "entered by mistake." The police conducted forensic analysis on his mobile phone, applied for an arrest warrant, and the court issued the warrant on the 7th.

In April, B was caught by the police for illegally filming in the women's locker room of a gymnasium on a university campus in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province. B is accused of installing a mobile phone in a locker and illegally filming the bodies of multiple unspecified women in the women's locker room of a university gymnasium in Yangju at around 3 p.m. on April 1st.

In mid-this month and last April, Mr. A and Mr. B were each arrested by the police for illegal filming within the university.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Discussions on sexual crimes on university campuses began to intensify after the Inha University sexual assault death case. On the 15th, a first-year student C at Inha University sexually assaulted a classmate on the 3rd floor of a 5-story building on the Inha University campus in Incheon, causing the victim to fall to their death. C fled after discarding a mobile phone and was caught while hiding. The police applied charges of quasi-rape resulting in death and filming using a camera under the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence and sent C to the prosecution in custody.

The Ministry of Education announced measures to strengthen safety management such as access security control and nighttime patrols in response to the Inha University sexual assault death case, but criticism arose that these measures are far from fundamental solutions. According to the 2019 survey on sexual harassment and sexual violence at universities by the National Human Rights Commission, there were a total of 1,164 cases of sexual harassment and sexual violence reported at universities over three years from 2016 to 2018. The trend shows a continuous increase: 245 cases in 2016, 368 in 2017, and 551 in 2018.

Despite Inha University increasing its budget from 6.62 million won in 2020 to 11.2 million won this year to prevent sexual crimes, such crimes still occur, highlighting the need for strict punishment of perpetrators and fundamental consideration of social safety nets. On the 23rd, Seung Jae-hyun, a research fellow at the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice Policy, who appeared on KBS Late Night Debate, emphasized, "When someone says 'I'm going to school,' it is because that school is as safe as home," and stressed, "We need to think about how to further develop our social safety nets."

There are calls for strict punishment of the perpetrator along with overall societal awareness improvement. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

There are also calls for establishing awareness improvements in daily life alongside strict punishment of perpetrators. In 2020, the Korean Women's Development Institute surveyed 2,007 public institution workers who took sexual violence prevention education on their level of gender sensitivity. Among men in their 20s, gender sensitivity was found to be lower compared to men of other generations. In the survey, 96.1% of women and 94.1% of men agreed with the statement "Having sex with someone who is unconscious due to intoxication is a sexual crime," but among those in their 20s, 99.1% of women and only 86.8% of men agreed, the lowest among all male age groups.

Furthermore, 52.7% of men in their 20s agreed with the statement "Kissing and caressing between men and women means consent to sexual intercourse," while only 19.4% of women agreed. Regarding the statement "A woman letting a man into her home late at night means consent to sexual intercourse," 27.4% of men and 9.3% of women agreed.

Experts emphasize the need for institutional improvements that can prevent sexual crimes, including victim-centered measures. In a statement on the 26th, Korea Women's Hotline pointed out, "The core of violence against women based on unequal gender power relations is being overlooked," and stated, "Communities including schools must establish internal regulations from a gender-equal perspective and ensure prompt handling of incidents according to procedures." They added, "The state must clearly show that it will not tolerate such acts by establishing a statistical system for violence and murder against women, punishing perpetrators without exception, providing thorough support for victims, building a system to prevent secondary damage, and improving awareness."