Amnesty International Discusses Digital Sexual Violence Responses...Proposes Policy Improvements

Three Roundtable Discussions to Be Held Beginning August 27

"Structural Violence... The Need to Review the Entire Response System"

Free Participation Open to All with Advance Registration

The Korea branch of Amnesty International will host a roundtable discussion titled "Asking About the Next Steps in Responding to Digital Sexual Violence" at Ferrum Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, at 2:00 p.m. on August 27.

This event has been organized to review the limitations of the current response system to digital sexual violence with experts from various fields and discuss ways to improve systems in order to strengthen prevention and response measures against such violence.

Recently, with digital technologies—including generative artificial intelligence (AI)—advancing rapidly, the forms of digital sexual violence as well as the ways it spreads are also changing. Amnesty International pointed out that post-incident responses, such as deleting content after harm has occurred or tracking down perpetrators, are insufficient to prevent repeated victimization.

In particular, the organization maintains that digital sexual violence should not be limited to acts such as illegal filming or distribution, but must be addressed as a form of structural gender-based violence interconnected with misogyny and sexual objectification in online spaces. Therefore, Amnesty International emphasized the need to evaluate the entire response system, including prevention, support, investigation, deletion, blocking, and punishment.

Participants at the event include Kim Byungjun, Head of the Diffusion Prevention Team at the Korea Communications Standards Commission; Kim Yeo-jin, Director of the Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center; Ahn Jihyun, JTBC reporter; Jo Sun-ae, Director of Capacity Building at the Central Digital Sex Crime Victims Support Center; Jo Seung-no, Team Leader of the Cyber Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency; and Heo Minsook, Researcher at the National Assembly Research Service.

The attendees will review the limitations of current response processes based on their respective experiences and discuss institutional challenges to strengthening interagency cooperation and victim-centered response systems. The event will proceed in the order of keynote presentations, the roundtable discussion, and a Q&A session. Anyone can participate for free through prior registration.

Choi Kyung Jo, Secretary General of Amnesty International Korea, said, "New technologies open up more possibilities for our society, but at the same time, they can also violate human rights and propagate harm in previously unknown ways. Given the rapid pace of technological change, our response to digital sexual violence must not remain limited to deletion and punishment after the fact."

She continued, "We hope this roundtable will become a forum for experts and citizens to jointly explore ways to improve responses to digital sexual violence, and for citizens’ voices to be reflected in tangible policy initiatives."

With this event as a starting point, Amnesty International plans to hold a total of three consecutive roundtable discussions in the second half of 2026. The second session will explore new human rights risks arising from technological advances such as generative AI and examine responsibilities in the platform and technology sectors. The third session will focus on the experiences and voices of young people in discussing necessary changes in the response to digital sexual violence. Based on the outcomes of these three discussions, the organization aims to proceed with policy proposals and advocacy campaigns to improve the system.

Those interested can register in advance for the roundtable through the official website, where detailed scheduling and further information are also available.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.