Colleges lack apparatus to handle sexual crimes

“I entered graduate school to study, but I was worried that I would be subjected to professors’ revenge if I report my suffering to the school authorities.”

One of the victims of sexual harassment cases at the United Nations-mandated University for Peace said, “Professors give more chances to students who follow order well, right?,” adding, “I had no choice but to think about disfavors that I would face if I confess my suffering.”

Likewise, victims cannot afford to report their suffering from sexual harassment at universities due to special relations between faculty and students. Because professors hold all authority in grading of students’ academic performance and review of dissertations for degrees, victims cannot predict what more damage they end up suffering if they are subjected to professors’ scrutiny and vengeance.

Experts stress when it comes to sexual crimes that occur amid relations of power, such as in university, suffering and damage can be reduced only when systems to relieve students from such suffering are put in place, and thus enable them to cope with accordingly. “Victims at university are still young and often don’t know how to handle such incidents,” said Jang Mi-hye, a senior researcher at the Korea Women’s Development institute. “Schools should guarantee personal safety of victims and guide them to not face disadvantages.”

The problem is that even if sexual harassment cases occur between professors and students at universities, there is no institution that can properly handle such cases. According to the Korea Women’s Development Institute, among the 350 colleges and universities including two-year schools nationwide, only about 40 are operating counseling offices for sexual crimes and harassment.

Another problem is that there is no manual or guidebook prepared at the government level for use when dealing with sexual crimes. A source at the Gender Equality and Family Ministry said, “Currently, guidelines for prevention of sexual harassment have been prepared for public organizations at the government level. We are advising universities to handle such cases in line with the guidelines.”

The process for punishing perpetrators and criteria to determine the severity of punishment differ from school to school, however. Even for the same level of harassment, corrective measures vary according to the degree of recognition on severity of sexual crimes, which are handled by a school body.

“The reality is that even if a victim feels her case is serious, weak punishment can be handed if the school judges the case is not serious,” Researcher Jang said. “A measure to address this situation is to publish small brochures showcasing examples of how sex crimes have been handled and containing related guidelines.”

evey@donga.com