National Human Rights Commission Announces the Results of a Study on Sexual Violence in the Military
On 8 April 2004, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) presented the results of a study on sexual violence in the Korean military at the NHRC “Bae-woom-tuh” Education Center.
The study, spanning from October 2003 to April 2004, was carried out by Insook Kwon of the Korean Sexual Violence Counseling Center under the auspices of the NHRC. 671 active-duty and discharged soldiers of the Korean military were surveyed on the following matters: 1) sexual violence among men while in the military, 2) distinctive characteristics and types of sexual violence in the military, 3) reporting of sexual violence and measures taken by the authorities to deal with such charges, and 4) gender consciousness. The survey results were complemented with in-depth interviews with sexual violence offenders (8 persons) incarcerated in military detention cells, victims of sexual violence (3 persons) as well as military legal officers and medical officers.
The main findings of the study are as follows.
1. Vicious Cycle of Military Sexual Violence
Among the 671 survey respondents, 103 (15.4%) had been a victim of sexual violence, and 166 (24.7%) had witnessed or heard of sexual violence incidents. 48 respondents (7.2%) had committed sexual violence against another, and among them, 39 (81.7%) had formerly been victims of sexual violence themselves, suggesting that sexual violence in the military is becoming a vicious cycle. If we look at incidence, among the 103 victims of sexual violence, only 9 persons (8.7%) had been victimized “once,” 42 persons (40.8%) “2 to 4 times,” 13 persons (12.6%) “5 to 6 times,” and 31 persons (30.1%) had been “repeatedly victimized.” Among offenders, 7 persons reported having committed sexual violence “once,” 11 persons “from 2 to 4 times,” 5 persons “from 5 to 10 times,” and 20 persons—the clear plurality (46.5% of responding offenders)—“repeatedly.”
2. Perpetrators are Higher-ranking
In the question identifying the rank of the offender in 128 cases, 91 cases (71.1%) involved a higher-ranking soldier, 9 (7.0%) a commanding officer, and 4 (3.1%) a commissioned officer. Thus, in 104 of the cases (81.2%), a superior in the military hierarchy was the perpetrator of sexual violence.
When asked where sexual violence had most often taken place, among 151 cases, 116 (76.8%) reported in their basic living area including living quarters, bathroom and shower rooms; 30 cases (19.8%) took place in working areas such as the administrative office, while standing guard, and training drill sites.
3. Physical violation of the body
If we divide 170 cases by type, they fall under the following categories: embracing (70 cases, 41.2%), touching of body parts such as chest and buttocks (57 cases, 33.5%), touching of genitals (22 cases, 12.9%), kissing (16 cases, 9.4%), penetration by the offender’s genitalia and coerced fondling (2 cases each), and forcing participation in masturbation (1 case). Among these types, embracing and touching of body parts had the greatest repeated incidence with half of victimized soldiers experiencing this kind of physical violation over 5 times.
4. A Culture of Verbal Sexual Harassment in the Military
When asked, “Were you ever forced to relate your sexual experiences,” 218 persons (32.7%) out of 667 responded that they had been, and among them, 55 persons (25.2%) reported that “because I did not have any sexual experience or did not relate my experiences I was subject to disadvantage.” When asked, “Were parts of your body pointed out for derogatory comments or teasing,” 135 persons (20.2%) responded affirmatively. The survey results suggest that a gender-discriminatory culture is pervasive within the hierarchical structure of the military.
5. Formal Response Procedures Lack Credibility
Out of 87 respondents who had been direct victims of sexual violence, only 4 actually reported their case. 48 respondents (64.0%) said the reason they did not report the incident was because “It’s so common that I didn’t think it would be taken seriously“; 12 (16.0%) replied that “It wouldn’t have mattered if I had reported the case to my superior”; and 7 (9.3%) replied that “Because of interpersonal relations with the offender.”
6. Grave Aftereffects
On the question of victims’ post-incident aftereffects, out of 114 cases, 17 (14.9%) replied that they had felt insulted, 17 (14.9%) that they had felt humiliated, and 16 (14.0%) that they had felt enraged. Among 92 cases, 21 (22.8%) reported that they had undergone a change of attitude after the incident, with 8 responding that they developed a hatred for gays, 5 that they “Tried to act more like a man,” 4 that, “I began to harbor doubts about my identity as a man,” 3 responding that, “I tried forcing my underlings into having sexual contact with me,” and 1 responded that, “I tried forcing a woman into having sexual contact with me.”
