Survey shows 20% of women in Korean film industry forced into unwanted sexual contact

Posted on : 2018-02-07 19:30 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
The KOFIC study sought to develop response measures to instances of sexual assault
Experiences of various type sexual harassment and abuse
Experiences of various type sexual harassment and abuse

One out of every ten women working in South Korean film – including acting, directing, writing, and staff positions – has experienced “unwanted sexual demands,” a survey shows. Around 20% also reported being forced into unwanted sexual contact. The findings emerged from a “survey of sexual assault (sexual discrimination) conditions for the sake of gender-equal environment for film professionals,” conducted between June and October of last year by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) and Women in Film Korea. A total of 749 people from various job classes in the cinema world were surveyed.

KOFIC embarked on the study to develop response measures after the emergence of issues with sexual assault in the film community last year. The survey was the first example of an official state-funded investigation of sexual assault in the film community. The final report is scheduled for publication in early March.

Place where incident occurred
Place where incident occurred

According to a copy of the interim report exclusively obtained by the Hankyoreh, 11.5% of women and 2.6% of men who were asked about personal experiences with sexual harassment and assault reported “experience with demands for unwanted sexual encounters.” 19% of women and 9.7% of men also said they had experienced “unwanted physical contact or being forced into physical contact.”

26.2% of women and 10.9% of men reported being “forced into private encounters and dates,” 35.1% of women and 20.3% of men hearing sexual appraisals of their appearance and obscene remarks, and 29.7% of women and 15.0% of men being forced to pour drinks or sit next to someone. The figures bear out victim accounts of sexual harassment and assault occurring on a “daily basis” in the film industry.

Many of the respondents also reported witnessing acts of sexual harassment and assault. Respondents reported witnessing obscene remarks (31.0% of all male and female respondents) and people being forced to attend drinking parties (24.5%), having their chests or other parts of their body stared at (23.7%), and being coerced into dates (13.0%). A much larger percentage said they had heard indirectly about experiences with sexual harassment and assault: 39.0% of respondents said they had “heard about someone being forced into unwanted sexual intercourse.”

Respondents also routinely heard about experiences with being coerced into dates (40.1%), hearing obscene remarks (43.4%), or facing percentage questions or deliberate circulation of information about their sexual history or orientation (36.8%).

The reported perpetrators were overwhelmingly male at 91.7%, while women accounted for 7.9%. 5.4% of respondents reported homosexual assault between women of the kind cited in a recent case involving a director surnamed Lee.

The vast majority of incidents occurred at drinking parties and meals with drinking at 57.2%, followed by outside meetings and other work-related outside locations (25.1%) and filming sets (21.4%). Over half of incidents – 52.7% - occurred during the pre-production stage, while 21.4% involved victims at the entry level in the cinema community. The numbers suggest many of the incidents occur before full-scale filming begins and involve exploitation of power imbalances on “work-related” pretexts.

Few have taken action in response to victimization

But few of those victimized have taken active steps in response. 56.6% of respondents said they “sensed it was a problem but didn’t say anything,” while 39.4% said they “escaped by feigning ignorance.” Just 0.7% responded “shouting or asking for help.” On their reasons for not responding more actively, 34.9% said they “felt it would be best to just ignore it,” 31.1% cited “fear of rumors or reputation damage in the industry,” and 26.6% said they “were afraid to get blacklisted from casting or work.” The responses suggest victims are being discouraged from an active response by the fear that the problem will not be taken seriously – or could result in negative consequences for themselves.

Respondents also showed intense distrust of the film community’s commitment to solving the sexual assault problem. 80.6% of respondents said previous incidents “were not dealt with appropriately,” while 67.9% said the industry “lacks the organizational culture to deal actively with incidents.”

By Yoo Sun-hui, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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