Ministry of Gender Equality and Journalists Association Unveil 'Guidelines for Reporting Violence Against Women 1.0'

New reporting guidelines have been established, prioritizing the prevention of secondary victimization and prohibiting sensational or provocative coverage.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family unveiled the draft of the 'Guidelines for Reporting Violence Against Women 1.0' during a forum co-hosted with the Journalists Association of Korea at the Government Complex Seoul on the afternoon of June 18.

The guidelines consist of five core principles: responsible, human rights-based reporting; prioritizing victim protection and the prevention of secondary victimization; prohibiting sensational and provocative coverage; ensuring the accuracy of information and prompt follow-up measures; and adhering to management responsibilities in response to the changing digital media environment.

Specifically, the guidelines include 15 practical requirements, such as exercising caution against revealing a victim's identity or infringing on their privacy, avoiding sensational headlines or graphic descriptions, banning the use of reenactments, and establishing management systems for article comment sections.

Examples were also provided to correct common, inaccurate expressions frequently used in reporting on violence against women.

The guidelines urge against the use of the term "kkotbaem" (a derogatory slang for a woman who uses sex to extort money), noting that it is a misogynistic expression that assumes the gender of the perpetrator and victim in false accusation cases where no such gender bias exists.

Additionally, the guidelines recommend using the term "dating violence" (gyoje-pokryeok) instead of "date violence" (deiteu-pokryeok), as the latter may downplay the severity of the crime by emphasizing the unique nature of an intimate relationship.

The guidelines also request replacing the term "sexual assault" (seongpokhaeng) with "sexual violence" (seongpokryeok), as the former tends to emphasize only sexual violence accompanied by physical assault.

In particular, the guidelines call for the avoidance of various provocative expressions that obscure the nature of the crime, such as "black hands," "bad mouth," "heinous act," "beast," "balbari" (a derogatory term for a serial sex offender), "sex scandal," "sexual relations," "groping," "dirty desires," "lovers' quarrel," "courtship," "unrequited love," "impulsive," "inappropriate relationship," and "sex slave."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.