Gyeonggi Province has supported a total of approximately 14,600 cases, including the deletion of harmful videos, for victims of digital sex crimes.
On the 22nd, Gyeonggi Province announced that through the 'Gyeonggi Province Digital Sex Crime Victim One-Stop Support Center,' a dedicated agency for supporting victims of digital sex crimes, it provided 14,673 services last year to 421 victims, including counseling, deletion of harmful videos, legal support, investigation linkage, and psychological support.
The 421 victims supported last year include 322 newly registered cases and 99 cases supported since the center's opening. Among the 322 newly supported victims last year, 270 were women, accounting for 83.9%. This was followed by 47 men (14.6%) and 5 unknown (1.6%).
By age group, teenagers accounted for 105 people, or 32.6%. This was followed by 110 people in their 20s (34.2%), 41 in their 30s (12.7%), 18 in their 40s (5.6%), 13 in their 50s (4.0%), and 1 child under 10 years old (0.3%). The proportion of minors (children and adolescents) among the victims was 32.9%.
The center provided support for reports of harm as follows: ▲ deletion support 11,287 cases (76.9%) ▲ counseling support 3,187 cases (21.7%) ▲ professional psychological counseling and other linkages 58 cases (0.4%) ▲ safe accompaniment and investigation support 112 cases (0.8%) ▲ legal support 29 cases (0.2%), totaling 14,673 cases.
According to counseling results, the most common type of harm (multiple responses possible) was anxiety about distribution (cases where the victim is anxious because of the filming but does not know whether distribution has occurred) with 255 cases (33.4%). This was followed by illegal filming with 131 cases (17.1%), distribution threats with 91 cases (11.9%), distribution with 88 cases (11.5%), sexual harassment in cyberspace with 41 cases (5.4%), and body-cam phishing, which involves threats using video chat footage, with 37 cases (4.8%).
When the distribution of harmful videos was confirmed, the center requested deletion from the site administrators and monitored whether actions were taken. If distribution was not confirmed, the center directly conducted 'distribution status monitoring.'
Additionally, in cooperation with the Korean Women Lawyers Association, which has a legal support agreement, the center provided prompt and professional legal counseling services to victims.
Starting this year, the center will operate legal aid support for victims' lawsuits and psychological healing programs to alleviate victims' anxiety and treat trauma.
Ji Ju-yeon, Director of the Women's and Family Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, emphasized, "Victims of digital sex crimes suffer significant psychological and mental distress, and their physical, economic, and social damages are very severe. We will do our best to provide active and professional services so that victims can overcome their situations and regain normal lives."
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