Digital sexual violence has no borders.
With the development of digital technologies such as smartphones and the Internet, the boundaries of production, distribution, and consumption that record sexual images have blurred, allowing anyone, anywhere to create, spread, and view them.
In particular, it is very difficult to delete all sexual images that are spread online. This is why today's digital sexual violence is not just a problem of one country or one region.
International collaboration is essential to combat digital sexual violence.
In the past, PAPS has been working with international collaborations, especially with organizations in Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in East Asia, to address the issue of digital sexual violence together.
For example, we have held meetings with partner organizations to exchange the latest information and experiences. Apart from that, we have done the following
In 2021, we made a criminal case of revenge pornography consultation with Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center (KCSVRC) in South Korea.
In 2022, we worked with the Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women (ACSVAW) in Hong Kong to expose illegal pornography websites.
The challenge that has emerged from these international collaborations is to enact or revise laws related to digital sexual violence that are in operation in countries different from Japan, and to collaborate with public institutions.
For example, South Korea enacted the Comprehensive Measures for the Prevention of Digital Sexual Violence in 2017 to address the issue of digital sexual violence. Subsequently, in order to respond to new forms of crimes such as “N-ban room” crimes in early 2020, the enacted Comprehensive Measures for the Prevention of Digital Sexual Violence Victimization were strengthened, and at the same time, laws to eradicate online sexual exploitation, such as the “N-ban Room Prevention Act” (April 2020), were revised.
In addition, the amended Law on Sexual Protection of Children and Adolescents was implemented in September 2021, making online grooming of children and adolescents a punishable offense.
In Hong Kong, the law related to digital sexual abuse - the Criminal Offenses (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 2021) was implemented in November 2021. With the implementation of this law, digital sexual violence such as filming, dissemination, and threats of filming, dissemination, and threats without consent are now punishable offenses.
Outside of these legal efforts, China's movement has received a lot of attention. The government is directly involved in, or cooperating with, the removal of sexual image records. The “Net Information Office” (網信弁) (China's State Internet Information Office) is the department responsible for managing information on the Internet. The department operates a website for reporting illegal and defective information, which includes reporting items related to pornography, obscenity, and violations of portrait rights.
In 2020, China's Internet management department received 160 million reports (2,288,000 reports to “Netlink”), of which 61.7%* were related to pornography and obscene materials. *From “ECPR” (China) https://www.12377.cn/
Taiwan ECPAT, a member of ECPAT (The International Campaign to End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism), an international Christian NGO, has set up a reporting hotline, “Web547,” to receive reports of pornography and obscenity. In addition to accepting reports, it also works with the police to filter information.
The Korea Digital Sexual Crimes Victims Support Center, also affiliated with the Korean Women's Rights Promotion Agency (affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Women and Family Affairs), provides counseling, removal support, and assistance in the form of investigations, legal, medical, and psychological counseling.
What we have seen in our interactions with other countries is the reality that Japan is a producer, exporter, and consumer of pornography.
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