As the Telegram n Room incident attracted social attention, there is a term that is used a lot in recent media. It is the concept of 'sexual exploitation'. This event sold 'sexual exploitation' produced by 'exploiting' the sexuality of adolescents, in other words, by inducing minor acts that are difficult to move after attracting minors using telegrams or anonymous chat apps that are difficult to track their identities. Several media have reported using the word 'sexual exploitation'.
But why did the teenagers who entered the 'exploitation' structure have been forced to be dragged away without being able to get out of it easily? Of course, for the victims of Room n or Doctor's Room, the most likely reason was that the perpetrators threatened to reveal their identities using sexual exploits once photographed, or threatened to find out personal information such as their home address and to physically harm them. . However, even if it is not an extreme case, such as a doctor's room that mobilizes local government officials or public service workers, minor women who once fell into the so-called 'youth prostitution' structure often fail to practice even if they want to escape. What is the reason?
● Why can't minors escape from 'exploitation'?
Civic groups, such as the Human Rights Center for Teenagers and Women, who have been involved in human rights related to children and youth, argue that the concept of "target children and youth" under the Child and Youth Sex Protection Act is a stumbling block to victims' escape from sexual exploitation. In the case of prostitution of children and adolescents, the prostitutes of course are punished. However, the minor (the woman in most cases), the counterpart, is also subject to the “protection measures” such as juvenile detention measures because the Child and Youth Sex Protection Act is regulated as "target children and youth." Because "protection measures" are actually perceived as criminal punishments, it is difficult for minor women, etc. to enter and exit the prostitution structure to report their opponents because they are afraid of "protection measures", and the prostitutes also use this point to treat minors. Their claim is that they often continue to be sexually exploited.
[Related law provisions]
| Child / Youth Sex Protection Act Article 2 7. "Targeted children and youth" means children and youth who have become the opponents of the crime under Article 13 (1). Article 13 (Act on buying the sex of a child or adolescent) ① Any person who commits an act of buying the sex of a child or a youth is punished by imprisonment for not less than 1 year and not more than 10 years, or by a fine not less than 20 million won and not more than 50 million won. Article 40 (Protective Disposition for Target Children, Youth, etc.) ① The court juvenile judge who has been dispatched an incident pursuant to Article 39 (1) or Article 44 (1) may take protective measures falling under any of the following subparagraphs to the child or youth: 1. Protection measures under Article 32 (1) of the 「Youth Act」 2. Protection measures entrusting the leading protection to the Youth Protection and Rehabilitation Center under Article 35 of the Youth Protection Act. |
● "As an adult, I couldn't raise my head."
Attorney Kim Soo-jung, who received the 'Attorney's Public Interest Awards' hosted by the Korean Bar Association last year, wrote on 'Freshian' on December 16, 2019 in the column titled "How a 15-year-old girl became a prostitution criminal" I mentioned a case where "protection measures" is applied in reality.
There is a girl I remember. My boyfriend virtually pimped and prostituted the girl. Later, the mother who visited her daughter noticed this and reported it to the police, and the adult men stored in the girl's cell phone were arrested. However, the problem was that not only adult men were investigated as sex buyers, but girls were also tried in the boy protection case, accused of prosecution. It was also detained at the Juvenile Classification Judge.
The mother reported that her 15-year-old daughter had been sexually assaulted by adult males, but even the child became a sex offender. Even more embarrassing, the adult men who bought the castle returned to normal life after being prosecuted for prosecution or having a simple fine penalty order because they had a family. Indeed, the girl was detained for prostitution. As I interviewed the girl and listened to the story, I couldn't raise my head as an adult. "
● The core of the problem "Target children and youth"… Revision attempt?
If so, has there been an attempt to change the concept of "target children / youth"? In the past, although attempts have been made, lawmaker Nam In-soon Nam, etc. of the Democratic Party in 2016, proposed a revision to the law in the 20th National Assembly, which will soon be completed. The legislation aimed to replace the concept of "targeted children and youth" specified in the Child and Youth Sex Protection Act with the concept of "damaged children and youth", and to provide specialized treatment and education to the victims and young people instead of the protective measures recognized as punishment.
However, the amendment to the law that crossed the threshold of the relevant standing committee has not been proposed to the 2nd subcommittee of the Legislative Law and Judicial Committee (hereinafter referred to as the 'law enforcement') for more than two years. In order for the National Assembly to pass an amendment to the law (not the law under jurisdiction over the law) 1. Pass the relevant standing committee's legislation review 2. Pass the relevant standing committee 3. Pass the law's legislation review 2 sub-class 4. Pass the law's 5. Pass the stage of the plenary session However, even though the second stage, the relevant standing committee, has passed, it has not even been able to go up to the second stage, the judiciary's bill review. For over two years.
(There are two subcommittees in the National Assembly's judiciary reviewing the bill before it is proposed to the general meeting of the judiciary. Among them, the subcommittee on legislation reviewing legal amendments in areas directly handled by the judicial branch, such as the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure Act, and reviewing the draft 2 The so-called jury examines whether the legislation passed by other standing committees is inconsistent with other laws or the Constitution, etc. The Child and Youth Sex Protection Act is a bill passed by the Women's Family Committee, which is another standing committee, so it goes through the second leg of the prosecution. .)
● Amendments to the law that have been braking for over two years… Because of the "opposition to the Ministry of Justice"
In response, Cho Jin-kyung, the head of the Teenage Women's Human Rights Center, which has been promoting the revision of the Sex Protection Act for Children and Youth, argued that the opposition from the Ministry of Justice was the main reason the bill was not passed. Despite the position of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in favor of the revision of the law and the recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the Ministry of Justice, the department that administers criminal punishment and protection measures, has revealed its opposition and the law has not been passed.
The counselor of lawmaker Kim Do-eup, chairman of the Subcommittee on Legislation Review of the Judicial Committee, explained the same purpose. The women's group criticized Kim Do-eup for reason that the amendment to the Child and Youth Sex Protection Act was not considered to be the 2nd sub-division of the bill, but they argued that Kim Do-eup had no reason to object to the bill. Then, when asked why the subcommittee chairman, who had been in power for more than two years, had not even put the bill into the so-called discussions, officials in the lawmakers' office in Kim Do-eup also discussed 'opposition of the Ministry of Justice'.
In principle, the judiciary committee did not discuss the legitimacy of the purpose of other standing committee legislation. Instead, it was customary that the opinions of Kim Do-eup would not be raised until the disagreement was resolved if opinions between government ministries were not unified. An amendment to the Child and Youth Sex Protection Act was approved by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family but opposed by the Ministry of Justice because it was dissented by the Ministry of Justice.
In the end, the concept of “target children and youth”, which is pointed out as an obstacle to sexual exploitation, is not deleted from the law, and women's and youth groups and Kim Do-eup's lawmakers' offices point to 'opposition of the Ministry of Justice'. So why did the Justice Department object?
The main reason for the opposition is that the Ministry of Justice and others who have been opposed to the deletion of the term "target children and youths" may voluntarily and repeatedly engage in 'sex sales' among minors. The Ministry of Justice does not deny that many so-called 'youth sex sales' occur in dire circumstances or in compelling situations. Opponents, however, argue that even without protective measures, there is no way to control minors who voluntarily, repetitively and professionally sell sex, and it is also practically difficult to crack down on those who use minors (so-called 'pimps') that are out of the law. Claim. In addition, the Ministry of Justice argues that 'protection measures' are clearly separate measures from criminal punishment, and education and self-sufficiency support by law revisionists can also be provided within the framework of protection measures.
● "The gender of children and youth is not a transaction, but a target of exploitation ... international standards"
Attorney Kim Hee-jin of the International Children's Human Rights Center explains that it is an internationally recommended criterion to view sexual acts of child and adolescents as sexual exploitation. The Special Rapporteur on the sale, prostitution and child pornography of children, and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, used the term "Child prostitute or child sex worker" to be exploited as "children who are prostituted" or "prostitution." It is recommended to replace it with "children exploited in prostitution," and it is clear that child prostitution is 'exploitation' using the child's sex.
In the comments released last year, including the Teenage Women's Human Rights Center, etc., the first recommendation adopted by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child for the Implementation of the Optional Protocol of the Republic of Korea also stated, "It is necessary to take necessary measures such as amendment to the law so that criminals in any form are not treated and punished."
[Winter Commissioner / United Nations Children's Rights Committee: It seems that the Ministry of Justice of Korea should emphasize the need to take protective measures. Particularly, we take protective measures against children who enter prostitution. If so, is it effective for taking protective measures? And what administrative and legislative efforts are you taking as alternatives? Please tell me if there is any such action taken. This is an act of deprivation of liberty. Deprivation of liberty is by no means the best interest of the child. Please tell me alternative measures in this regard.]
[Response to the Revision of the Sub-School Act (OPSC) on prostitution for children and youth: The Korean Ministry of Justice will respond. Children and youth who have been incentives to seek prostitution or who have become opponents of prostitution due to violence, intimidation, hierarchies, and power are protected as victims. The proposed amendment to the sub-law law pending in the National Assembly is intended to equally recognize the procedures supported for victims of sexual violence, such as rape, for all prostituted children and adolescents, even if mediation or assault is not involved. The Ministry of Justice sympathizes with the legislative purpose of the amendment to the sub-laws that it is necessary to strengthen the protection support for children and teenagers who have entered prostitution. However, it is necessary to prepare protection and support measures to prevent the target children and teenagers from entering the sex trade again, and it is necessary to sufficiently review the adequacy of the abolition of the protection and disposition system currently in place for the purpose of preventing recidivism, and alternatives when abolition. Currently, we are discussing with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which is in charge of subsidies, and will actively support the National Assembly discussion based on the results of the consultation.]
* Source: Records of the 5th and 6th Korea Core Deliberations related to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Translation provided by: International Center for Children and Human Rights)
However, in this regard, the Joint Countermeasures Committee for the revision of the Sex Protection Act for Children and Youth (hereinafter referred to as the `` Technical Commission '') expressed its opposition. In the comment published shortly after the meeting, the Korea National University of Technology said, 'The' UN Children's Rights Convention 'and the' Children's Rights Convention on Child Trafficking, Prostitution, and Child Pornography 'do not differentiate children's ages, and' all children under the age of 18 '. "It is clear that prostitution is a sexual exploitation and victim of a sex offense." The current threats such as sex buyers and mediators threaten children and adolescents such as 'I will notify my parents or school' and 'You are also punished'. "Are the behaviors different from the ages of children and adolescents, will they be different, so did you make these proposals? The proposals from the Ministry of Justice cannot improve the current situation at all," he said.
● Ministry of Justice transition?… "Advanced position will come out soon"
However, after the nth room incident became a social issue, the Ministry of Justice revealed that the SBS coverage was reviewing the "advanced stance" over the revision of the Sexual Protection Act on Children and Youth, including the deletion of the concept of "target children and youth." When I asked the Ministry of Justice regarding the reason why the law bill was not even supposed to be passed for two years after the passing of the senior women's family committee, which I was in charge of, I admitted that the officials of the Ministry of Justice took a cautious position in the past and said, Underneath, consultations between ministries are progressing rapidly, ”he said. Specifically, when asked what the progress was, the inter-ministerial consultation was in progress and could not be answered, but he did not forget to add "sooner or later the content will be released."
It was only after the Ministry of Justice, which had been opposed to passing the bill for more than four years since the first legislation of the 20th National Assembly, and for more than two years, even after being passed by the relevant standing committee, was issued after the issue of Room n was issued. " I feel a bit bitter that I am changing my position in the "advanced" direction. However, it would not be a bad thing if the "target child / youth" problem, which had been forgotten in the indifferent society, has received social attention.
The 20th National Assembly is running out. In any direction, we look forward to drawing conclusions on the amendments to the Sexual Protection Act on Children and Youth, including the “Targeted Children and Youth” issue within the 20th National Assembly. I would like to note how "advanced" the "advanced plan" that the Ministry of Justice, which has revealed its opposition, will come up with sooner or later, will be released.
(Photo = Yonhap News, Getty Image Korea)
* Many of the materials cited in the above text were provided by lawyer Kim Ye-won, representative of the Center for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
* The above mentioned questions and answers to the 5th and 6th Korea Deliberations on the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child can also be confirmed through YouTube videos uploaded after the deliberation process was taken by the International Center for Children and Human Rights.
▶ [Video] Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, relay of the 5th and 6th Korea deliberations! (Day 1, 2019.09.18)
▶ [Video] Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, relay of the 5th and 6th Korea deliberations! (Day 2, 2019.09.19) [2-1]
▶ [Video] Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, relay of the 5th and 6th Korea deliberations! (Day 2, 2019.09.19) [2-2]
* Note: How did a 15-year-old girl become a prostitutional offender (Freshian)