(Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of male victims of digital sex crimes compiled by a state support agency doubled last year from the previous year, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Monday.
The Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center extended assistance to 1,843 male victims in 2021, marking a near twofold increase from 926 in the previous year, the ministry said.
The spike in the number of male victims of digital sex crimes is attributed to the rising prevalence of illegal photographing and filming, the ministry said.
The center, established in 2018 by the Korean Women’s Human Rights Promotion Agency under the ministry, provided a total of 6,952 victims with about 188,000 cases of support, including consultation, assistance in having videos and photos deleted, post-deletion monitoring and legal and medical assistance, last year.
The number of victims and support service cases increased 39.8 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively, from the previous year, the ministry said, attributing the increases to the operation of a 24-hour consultation system and the advancement of the deletion support system.
By gender, women accounted for 73.5 percent, or 5,109, of the entire victims, compared with the 1,843 male victims, it noted.
By age group, teenagers and those in their 20s accounted for 21.3 percent and 21 percent, respectively, of all victims, it said.
Notably, over half of the victims, 51.7 percent, did not know who the perpetrators were and another 28.2 percent were victimized by people in temporary relationships, the ministry said.
Types of damage compiled by the state support center included anxiety over dissemination of photos and videos (25.7 percent), illegal photographing or filming (21.5 percent) and distribution of illegal content (20.3 percent).
Last year, the center provided 169,820 cases of support for the deletion of illegal videos and photos, marking a year-on-year rise of 7 percent, the ministry added.
(Yonhap)
