Sexual Violence and the Culture of Death

 

The first Sunday of May in Korea is Respect for Life Sunday— the Church's ways to fight against the culture of death that surrounds us. In the Catholic Times  Diagnosis of the Times column, a human life scholar gives us some thoughts on the tendency in society toward sexual violence and neglect of human life issues.
 
One day, more than 20 years ago, she heard about a shocking experience from a senior who was volunteering at a women's shelter. A father raped a young daughter who underwent major surgery to remove her uterus. At the time, she had never heard  such news in any of the media and did not believe the senior's words. No family would have done such a horrendous thing. But in recent years, she has seen such news several times a month.
 
Although the overall number of cases of sexual violence has decreased, there is a reluctance to acknowledge an increase in sexual violence within families (relatives). This is because, according to the "2019 Sexual Violence Safety Survey Results", 9.6% of Korean adults have experienced sexual violence with physical contacts, such as rape or sexual assault, at least once in their lifetime. Therefore, the recent cases of sexual violence within the family (relatives) we see in mass media prove that unlike in the past, things that we tried to hide are now being publicized. We are becoming socially more accepting of victims as women's human rights are increased in Korea, and because of efforts to strengthen legal and institutional provisions.
 
There have been many studies on victims of sexual violence and demands for legal and institutional improvement, but studies on the causes of sexual violence are relatively few. Some scholars view sexual violence within the family (relatives) as a social product of fixed gender roles, but it is insufficient to say that this alone has identified the cause of the problem. In particular, as women's human rights continue to be strengthened and social advancement is increasing, to limit the cause as a social product of fixed gender roles is not seeing the whole picture.
 
So what's the problem? Sexual violence is revealed as heinous violence in which the strong dehumanize the weak through sex. This is done in this way not only in society but also in the family (relatives). Also, women are not the only victims of sexual violence. According to the police’s statistics on crime in 2020, the incidence of male sexual violence (rape, forced molestation) victims reached 6.6%. The overwhelming majority of female victims are because women are still socially weak, but since male victims also have a position of relative weakness, sexual violence is not viewed from the perspective of men as perpetrators and women as victims. It can be said that it stems from a culture of death that despises the dignity of the weak.
 
This calls for reflection on whether the culture in our society sees sexuality as a tool for resolving desires or for the strong to abuse the weak. And while strengthening legal punishment and institutional improvement is important as a way to solve these social pathologies, correct sex education is equally essential. "True education pursues the formation of a character that aims for the good of society as well as the ultimate goal of human beings." Sex education is included in this purpose. In other words, sex education should look at the whole human being, not limited to sexual activity and sexual life. If the principle of affirming and respecting the existence of the other person is excluded, sex is just a tool, that permits great evil and a culture of death that dehumanizes humans.