“Digital sex crimes have become so common, and so feared, in South Korea that they are affecting the quality of life of all women and girls,” Heather Barr, HRW’s interim director of women’ rights, said on Wednesday. An alarming number of survivors of digital sex crimes said they had considered suicide. “Digital sex crimes are an urgent crisis for South Korean women and girl,” said Lina Yoon, a senior researcher in HRW’s Asia division. The president, Moon Jae-in, called for police to investigate the growing number of digital sex crimes after mass demonstrations in Seoul gained global attention in 2018. A year earlier, prosecutors dropped 43.5% of digital sex crime cases compared to 27.7% of homicide cases and 19% of robbery cases, although the sex crime cases that were prosecuted usually ended in a conviction, the report said.

Source: The Guardian June 16, 2021 05:03 UTC