SEX ABUSE ‘PART OF ORDINARY LIFE’ IN N.KOREA

SEOUL (DPA), NOV 1, 2018 -

Sexual abuse is so common in North Korea “it has come to be accepted as part of ordinary life,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) asserted in a report on sexual violence in the reclusive country published late Wednesday.

North Korean officials including highranking party members, prison guards, police, prosecutors and soldiers commit sexual abuse “with little concern for the consequences,” the rights watchdog said.

Afraid of retaliation or social disgrace, women rarely report abuse and authorities rarely investigate or prosecute such cases, according to HRW, which said it interviewed 54 North Koreans who had fled the country since 2011 and eight former North Korean officials.

Most of the assaults reported to HRW took place when the victims were in custody or when the victims were market traders who were attacked by market guards or other officials.

Women in custody could do little to avoid sexual assault since any complaint could result in further punishment including beatings or forced labour, the watchdog reported.

Women not in custody risked jeopardizing their source of income or being sent to prison camps.

Rights activists have repeatedly complained that North Korea’s record on human rights has been ignored amid a diplomatic thaw between it and the United States and South Korea over the past year.