July update from the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women
Visit by Japanese Anti-Prostitution Women's Organization Colabo and Lived-Experience Network "Touka"
On July 12, Yumeno Nito, representative of the Japanese anti-prostitution organization Colabo, along with activists from "Touka"—a network of individuals in Japan with lived experience in prostitution—visited Haebom. It was a meaningful time where we introduced the counseling and support activities of Boda and Haebom, shared the history and experiences of Korea's support system for female victims of sexual exploitation, and discussed common challenges faced by both Korea and Japan.
Colabo is a Japanese women's rights organization that provides outreach, counseling, emergency shelter, housing, and independence support to women and young girls facing crisis situations such as runaway scenarios, poverty, and sexual exploitation. Currently, they are driving a project to establish a Women's Rights Center to create a sustainable support system and base for the women's movement against sexual exploitation and discrimination. This center is planned to serve as a safe haven where victimized women can stay and receive support, as well as a space to advance the women's rights movement through education, research, and solidarity activities.
If you are interested in the Women's Rights Center establishment project, you can check out the details and contribute through the links below 😉
NSASEW Steering Committee Policy Seminar — On Digital Sexual Exploitation
In recent years, online sexual exploitation has become a critical social issue worldwide. In Europe, based on the awareness that online spaces can no longer remain a blind spot for regulating sexual exploitation, relevant laws and policies are being rapidly established. In 2025, Sweden amended its legislation—often referred to as the "OnlyFans Law"—to begin regulating the purchase of customized content where payment is offered online in exchange for specific sexual acts.
On the other hand, in Korea, despite recurring social issues surrounding online sexual exploitation—such as the N-th Room case, deepfake sexual exploitation, and live-streamed explicit broadcasting (beot-bang)—there remains a significant lack of comprehensive legal and policy frameworks to regulate the evolving sexual exploitation industry and to support victims.
Continuing from these discussions, for the July Steering Committee Policy Seminar, we invited Dr. Junghye Kim from the Korean Women's Development Institute (KWDI) to examine domestic and international policy trends regarding online sexual exploitation, as well as to discuss necessary legislative tasks and policy directions moving forward. It was a meaningful opportunity to deeply reflect on the institutional frameworks and support systems required to respond to the changing sexual exploitation industry in the digital environment.
NSASEW plans to host an event in the second half of the year to share with a broader audience the reflections and discussions on online sexual exploitation that we have carried out throughout the first half. We kindly ask for your continued interest and solidarity.
[Evaluation and Proposals Seminar on the Lee Jae-myung Administration's First Year] – Where Stand the Women's and Gender Equality Policies?
On July 21, the Korean Women's Associations United hosted a seminar titled "Diagnosing the Present and Asking the Future – One Year of the Lee Jae-myung Administration: Where Stand the Women's and Gender Equality Policies?" Ha-young Lee, Co-Representative of NSASEW, gave a presentation titled "Evaluating Year One of the Lee Jae-myung Administration: Limits of Gender-Based Violence Policies Lacking Gender Equality."
The presentation acknowledged positive changes, such as the expansion and reorganization of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the reactivation of the Committee for the Prevention of Violence Against Women. However, it pointed out that key issues remain unaddressed policy gaps—including responses to digital sexual exploitation and AI-driven sexual exploitation industries, the substantial implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Act, and the decriminalization of women in prostitution. Furthermore, it proposed that moving beyond post-facto responses to individual incidents, the future imperative is to establish gender equality as an overarching principle across all national policies and redesign the legal, budgetary, and inter-departmental collaboration systems accordingly.
This seminar went beyond merely evaluating gender equality policies over the past year to collectively explore the direction the government must take moving forward. Gender equality should not be a standalone policy, but an underlying principle that runs through national policy as a whole. Grounded in field experience and policy alternatives regarding gender-based violence, NSASEW will continue its policy advocacy and solidarity efforts to foster effective legal and institutional improvements and build comprehensive victim support systems.
July update from the National Solidarity against Sexual Exploitation of Women
Visit by Japanese Anti-Prostitution Women's Organization Colabo and Lived-Experience Network "Touka"
On July 12, Yumeno Nito, representative of the Japanese anti-prostitution organization Colabo, along with activists from "Touka"—a network of individuals in Japan with lived experience in prostitution—visited Haebom. It was a meaningful time where we introduced the counseling and support activities of Boda and Haebom, shared the history and experiences of Korea's support system for female victims of sexual exploitation, and discussed common challenges faced by both Korea and Japan.
Colabo is a Japanese women's rights organization that provides outreach, counseling, emergency shelter, housing, and independence support to women and young girls facing crisis situations such as runaway scenarios, poverty, and sexual exploitation. Currently, they are driving a project to establish a Women's Rights Center to create a sustainable support system and base for the women's movement against sexual exploitation and discrimination. This center is planned to serve as a safe haven where victimized women can stay and receive support, as well as a space to advance the women's rights movement through education, research, and solidarity activities.
If you are interested in the Women's Rights Center establishment project, you can check out the details and contribute through the links below 😉
Women's Rights Center Establishment Project: https://congrant.com/project/colabo/19128
Colabo Official Website (English): https://colabo-official.net/english
NSASEW Steering Committee Policy Seminar — On Digital Sexual Exploitation
In recent years, online sexual exploitation has become a critical social issue worldwide. In Europe, based on the awareness that online spaces can no longer remain a blind spot for regulating sexual exploitation, relevant laws and policies are being rapidly established. In 2025, Sweden amended its legislation—often referred to as the "OnlyFans Law"—to begin regulating the purchase of customized content where payment is offered online in exchange for specific sexual acts.
On the other hand, in Korea, despite recurring social issues surrounding online sexual exploitation—such as the N-th Room case, deepfake sexual exploitation, and live-streamed explicit broadcasting (beot-bang)—there remains a significant lack of comprehensive legal and policy frameworks to regulate the evolving sexual exploitation industry and to support victims.
Continuing from these discussions, for the July Steering Committee Policy Seminar, we invited Dr. Junghye Kim from the Korean Women's Development Institute (KWDI) to examine domestic and international policy trends regarding online sexual exploitation, as well as to discuss necessary legislative tasks and policy directions moving forward. It was a meaningful opportunity to deeply reflect on the institutional frameworks and support systems required to respond to the changing sexual exploitation industry in the digital environment.
NSASEW plans to host an event in the second half of the year to share with a broader audience the reflections and discussions on online sexual exploitation that we have carried out throughout the first half. We kindly ask for your continued interest and solidarity.
[Evaluation and Proposals Seminar on the Lee Jae-myung Administration's First Year] – Where Stand the Women's and Gender Equality Policies?
On July 21, the Korean Women's Associations United hosted a seminar titled "Diagnosing the Present and Asking the Future – One Year of the Lee Jae-myung Administration: Where Stand the Women's and Gender Equality Policies?" Ha-young Lee, Co-Representative of NSASEW, gave a presentation titled "Evaluating Year One of the Lee Jae-myung Administration: Limits of Gender-Based Violence Policies Lacking Gender Equality."
The presentation acknowledged positive changes, such as the expansion and reorganization of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the reactivation of the Committee for the Prevention of Violence Against Women. However, it pointed out that key issues remain unaddressed policy gaps—including responses to digital sexual exploitation and AI-driven sexual exploitation industries, the substantial implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Act, and the decriminalization of women in prostitution. Furthermore, it proposed that moving beyond post-facto responses to individual incidents, the future imperative is to establish gender equality as an overarching principle across all national policies and redesign the legal, budgetary, and inter-departmental collaboration systems accordingly.
This seminar went beyond merely evaluating gender equality policies over the past year to collectively explore the direction the government must take moving forward. Gender equality should not be a standalone policy, but an underlying principle that runs through national policy as a whole. Grounded in field experience and policy alternatives regarding gender-based violence, NSASEW will continue its policy advocacy and solidarity efforts to foster effective legal and institutional improvements and build comprehensive victim support systems.