A woman in prison at the Seoul Detention Center who only fifteen days earlier had complained that she had been sexually abused by a male prison official has tried to commit suicide. She is still in a coma so her reasons are still unknown.
The detention center's attitude has consistently been to minimize and cover up the incident. Without clear evidence it concluded that she attempted suicide because of a letter she received from her family. It reported to Ministry of Justice officials only that she had tried to kill herself and made no mention of the abuse. It says all the male prison official did was "ask questions that made her feel same and stroke her wrist." Would they really have paid the woman's family a large settlement and demoted the officer for something so simple? That sounds as suspicious as can be.
Prison officers and inmates are on opposite ends of a unique relationship. If an officer makes demands on an inmate, it is hard for the inmate not to accommodate for fear of the consequences. This particular incident occurred in the course of a parole review, in closed quarters. In facility where there are hundreds of female prisoners, there are no female officers involved in the process of prisoner classification review. In other words, officials are not taking female prisoners' rights and particular needs into consideration, and that is why they deserve it when people suggest the woman's suicide attempt was the result of officers' insensitivity towards prisoners' rights.
Right now Korean society is enraged at the recent news that an elementary school girl was sexually abused and murdered. Ministry of Justice officials say they are going to investigate events at the Seoul Detention Center, but one worries they really might try to protect their own. An authoritative investigation by a neutral government organization like the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
According to figures from the NHRC, 43 percent of female prisoners say they have felt sexually shamed at one time or another. This latest case shows you how detention facilities are in society's blind spot when it comes to sexual violence and crime. There urgently needs to be institutional reform that includes facilities exclusively for women and more female prison officers.
The Hankyoreh, 24 February 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Stopping Sexual Abuse in Prison |
