![]() Most victims are women - rights groups say the scandal is indicative of wider sexism in society - and Lee's case has spotlighted the mental toll it can take on its victims, along with the leniency of punishments meted out to many men.īefore Lee died, her father said she had taken to drink and anti-depressants after police caught the man filming illicitly in a supermarket, only to discover his stash of secret footage, her naked body among the many women he had previously filmed. I don't want to believe that she's gone," said Lee Young-tae, father of the 26-year-old pathologist, who killed herself by leaping from a building in September.Īs digital sex crimes rise worldwide, South Korea has become the global epicentre of spycam - the use of tiny, hidden cameras to film victims naked, urinating or mid-sex. Lee Yu-jung took her own life after a colleague secretly filmed her in the changing room of the hospital where they both worked, the country's first reported 'spycam' death.įootage of Lee was found among a bigger cache of video of women, all illegally snatched in the country's spycam epidemic, often with cheap devices as small as a key ring. ![]() GIMHAE, South Korea, Jan 13 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The wedding hall was booked and home furnishing all bought but the bride - one of thousands of women to fall victim to an epidemic of high-tech voyeurism in South Korea - is not here. An updated and evolving comprehensive action plan for reducing the prevalence and impact of digital sex crimes is urgently needed – and without it, women and girls in South Korea will continue to face long-term harm.As digital sex crimes rise worldwide, South Korea has become the global epicentre of spycam - the use of tiny, hidden cameras to film victims The government should also take urgent action to increase women’s participation in the legal and law enforcement sectors.ĭigital sex crimes continue to increase at an alarming rate. This includes passing a comprehensive anti-discrimination law and reform of sexuality education to remove gender stereotypes and include teaching about consent, gender-based violence, healthy relationships, and digital citizenship, including digital sex crimes. It is essential that the government prioritize making access to services available to survivors and tackle prevention by addressing South Korea’s deeply entrenched gender inequity. But focusing on punishment is insufficient. It’s time it takes that obligation seriously and prioritizes comprehensive, meaningful action over words.Īs part of previous commitments, the South Korean government increased the severity of punishments for digital sex crimes. Under international law, the South Korean government is obligated to address discriminatory behavior, including online gender-based violence. Human Rights Watch research shows what happens when digital sex crimes and other forms of online abuse in South Korea are not properly addressed: traumatized victims, and ruined lives. This is despite the government’s expressed commitments following massive protests against government inaction in 2018 and the Telegram Nth room case – a case involving extreme abuses and many victims – last year.Īnnex: Letter to the Government of South Korea For example, more than 1,200 teenagers have reported being victims of digital sex crimes so far this year, according to the Women’s Human Rights Institute of Korea. ![]() Together, they help paint a picture of how pervasive digital sex crimes – digital images, almost always of women and girls, captured and shared without consent, and sometimes manipulated – continue to be in South Korea. Individually, these cases are horrifying. Over a few months, they filmed hundreds of guests without their consent, later blackmailing some guests and threatening to release footage. In October, authorities arrested a group of men who had bribed a motel worker to install spy cameras in all rooms. Last week, authorities arrested an elementary school principal in South Korea who had installed a spy camera inside a bathroom used by the school’s female staff members. South Korean women protest against non-consensual filming and sharing of intimate images on Augin Seoul, South Korea.
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