Raising awareness of cybersexual violence and supporting victims
- In 2019, 11% of women reported experiencing cybersexual violence (Korea Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s Sexual Violence Survey).
- In 2023, the Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center – a government-operated entity – removed 245,416 non-consensual intimate videos from online platforms. The center provides legal, psychological, and practical support to victims of digital sex crime.
A Five-Pillar Approach to Combat Cybersexual Violence
Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center (KCSVRP) is dedicated to combating cybersexual violence and advancing feminist activism through a 5-pillar strategy:
1/ Support victims: Provide legal, psychological, and emotional support to victims of cyber sexual violence, helping them recover and seek justice.
2/ Advocate for laws that address the issue: Push for feminist-informed reforms in laws, policies, and institutions to address cyber sexual violence.
3/ Raise awareness: Challenge harmful perceptions of women’s sexuality and promote the understanding that acts like illegal filming are forms of sexual violence, not entertainment.
4/ Solidarity building: Collaborate with women and minority groups to fight against gender-based violence through joint actions and advocacy.
5/ Sustainability of Feminist Activism: As the only full-time feminist activist organization post-2015 feminist resurgence in Korea, it bridges the legacy of past decades women's movements with the new generation of activism.
Kering Foundation’s support consists of flexible funding to strengthen the organization’s strategy.
Supporting Victims and Shifting Perceptions
Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center provides direct support to victims of tech facilitated violence via its helpline, available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
The center developed a process for the deletion of non-consensual sexual content (videos and images) that have been posted online. Their ‘deletion process’ became the prototype for the National Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center established in 2018. They provide victims with feminist counseling, legal support, psychological counseling support, and deletion support coordination.
Prevention is also an important part of their work. KCSVRP has led awareness campaigns aiming at shifting societal understanding of cyber sexual violence by replacing euphemistic terms like “revenge porn” and “hidden camera” into “illegal filming” and “non-consensual distribution”, framing these as acts of violence, rather than pornography. They provide campaigns and education to eliminate the stigma surrounding victims of cyber sexual violence.
Since 2017:
