Children and Youth in Prostitution Trapped by the Narrow Definition of Sexual Exploitation [Sexual Exploitation, Out]

Growing Calls for Amending the Youth Sexual Protection Act
Rising Need to Expand Terminology from "Prostitution" to "Sexual Exploitation"
Seoul Enacts Ordinance for Integrated Support for Sexual Exploitation Victims
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Also Pursues Amendment to the Youth Sexual Protection Act

Editor's NoteChild and youth prostitution is defined as sexual exploitation. This is because children and adolescents, whose sexual self-determination is immature, cannot be regarded as capable of sexual consent or entering into contracts. Children and adolescents, who can quickly form intimate relationships online through social media, messengers, and anonymous platforms, are now more easily drawn into sexual exploitation crimes than in the past. According to the Central Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center of the Korea Women's Human Rights Institute, one out of every four people (27.8%) who received support for digital sex crime victimization last year was a teenager. Compared to 2023, the number of teenage victims supported by the center increased by more than 600, a 3.3 percentage point rise. Crimes of sexual exploitation against children and adolescents are clear instances of sexual abuse. This article examines whether there are ways to prevent such crimes and what specific measures are needed, based on real-life cases.

Commissioner Kim Namhee: For children and adolescents, prostitution is also sexual exploitation. All acts of purchasing sex are already enumerated in the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sexual Offenses. The law already defines these acts as providing or promising money or compensation to induce such behavior. Changing the terminology does not alter the fact that the specific requirements are already stipulated by law.

Commissioner Seo Beomsoo: Nevertheless, in reality, the concepts of prostitution and sexual exploitation are clearly different from what we commonly understand.

Commissioner Kim Namhee: We should approach this issue by questioning whether it is possible for there to be prostitution that is not sexual exploitation in the context of children and adolescents.

(Excerpt from the minutes of the National Assembly Gender Equality and Family Committee’s Bill Review Subcommittee)

On April 5, during a meeting of the National Assembly Gender Equality and Family Committee, a heated debate took place over the proposed amendment to the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sexual Offenses (Youth Sexual Protection Act), which was introduced by Kim Namhee of the Democratic Party of Korea. The amendment calls for unifying the terminology in the current law, which separately uses the term "children and youth victims of prostitution," to "children and youth victims of sexual exploitation."

Representative Kim, who introduced the amendment, emphasized the need to pass the bill, stating, "Children and youth victims of prostitution may be classified differently from those who are victims of sexual violence, creating a blind spot where they do not receive proper legal protection." However, as objections arose that prostitution and sexual exploitation cannot be considered the same, the amendment was not passed in its original form and was ultimately discarded after alternative proposals were considered. At the time, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family stated that a consensus on the definition of sexual exploitation was needed and called for a "cautious review."

Children and Youth in Prostitution Trapped by the Narrow Definition of Sexual Exploitation [Sexual Exploitation, Out]

The Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sexual Offenses currently defines "children and youth victims of prostitution" (Article 2, Section 6-2) as a separate category, while sexual exploitation is only defined in terms of sexual exploitation materials. Under the current law, there is a risk that sexual exploitation may be narrowly perceived as referring only to digital sex crime victims. This makes it difficult to prevent the increasingly sophisticated and recurring harm occurring through online platforms. Furthermore, the narrow definition of sexual exploitation increases the risk that child and youth victims may not recognize themselves as victims. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child includes child prostitution as a form of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has taken the lead by enacting an ordinance to prevent the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents?including prostitution?and to support victims. Seoul is the only local government in Korea to reflect the international standard of recognizing child and youth prostitution as sexual exploitation in its legal framework. The ordinance specifies that child and youth victims must be protected regardless of whether compensation is provided, whether there is consent or coercion, or the nature of the relationship with the perpetrator. In other words, any act that exploits the vulnerable status of children and adolescents to induce or force them into illegal and harmful sexual acts, or to profit regardless of compensation or consent, is conceptualized as sexual exploitation. An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government explained, "Through this ordinance, we can provide integrated support to victims of child and youth sexual exploitation, regardless of the type of crime. We can also connect victims linked through perpetrators to professional counselors and shelters, as well as other institutions."

In practice, the term "sexual exploitation" is already being used in place of "prostitution." Since 2021, 17 support centers for child and youth victims of sexual exploitation (Acheon Centers) have opened nationwide, using the term "sexual exploitation." As the issue of children and adolescents avoiding support due to the stigma associated with the term "prostitution" was repeatedly raised, the operational guidelines were revised last year to use the term "sexual exploitation" instead.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has decided to pursue an amendment to the Youth Sexual Protection Act to reflect these changes. As sexual crimes against children and adolescents become more serious, the ministry intends to define all child and youth victims?including those of grooming and prostitution?as "children and youth victims of sexual exploitation." A ministry official stated, "We agree with the necessity of the earlier amendment, which called for including prostitution as one type of sexual exploitation victimization among children and youth," adding, "We will proceed with subsequent legal revisions."