Most Korean victims stay silent after sexual harasment

Almost 80 percent of South Koreans take no follow-up actions after being sexually harassed at work, while 45 percent of such cases involving female victims occur at drinking gatherings at the hands of those in managerial positions, a government study showed Tuesday.

The study, which surveyed workers at 400 public institutions and 1,200 private firms, showed that a total of 6.4 percent of 7,844 surveyed workers had been sexually harassed at work. Among all surveyed women, 9.6 percent had been harassed, while 1.8 percent of all male participants had experienced the same.

The percentage of victims was the highest among those who are female, in their 20s and in contract positions.

The study showed that 78.4 percent of all victims did not take any follow-up actions after being harassed, while only 0.9 percent reported their cases to government agencies or authorities at work. Only 6.8 percent asked for an apology from the attackers.

Also, almost 40 percent of the victims said they were harassed by their superiors at work. At the same time, 88 percent of all victims said their abusers were male. Many of them were in their 40s and 50s.

More than 20 percent of the victims also left their workplace after being harassed, as they felt unsafe and uncomfortable.

The biggest portion of the victims said the harassment involved verbal comments about their physical appearance along with sexual innuendo.

“I think it is necessary for Koreans to stop commenting on each other’s appearance so often at work, even if they genuinely think they mean well,” said Song In-ja, an official at the Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education.

“Especially at the workplace, one’s appearance should not be something that one should be judged on, especially by those in superior positions.”

Male and female victims had different reasons for not reporting their cases. While 72 percent of the male victims said they took no actions because they didn’t think it was a serious problem, the biggest proportion of the female victims, 50.6 percent, said they didn’t follow up as they believed nothing would change even if they filed a complaint.

Even among the victims who reported their cases, more than 50 percent said they were unhappy with the way the authorities handled their cases. The biggest number of them said they were unsatisfied because they never received a formal apology from the abusers, many of whom were their superiors at work.

The highest proportion of the victims said they wanted their attackers to receive disciplinary measures from the employer, while 26.4 percent of them wished to work where she or he can be physically away from the perpetrators.

While almost half of all surveyed Koreans said sexual harassment was a serious social problem, just 3.2 percent said the abuse was prevalent or serious at their own workplace.

“The chances are, many cases at your workplace are kept secret,” said Song. “Most victims don’t want their colleagues to know and just remain silent. It is necessary for all workers in the country to be more informed and conscious of the issue, as well as potential victims in their own workplaces.”

By Claire Lee(dyc@heraldcorp.com)