Rape ‘part of ordinary life’ in North Korea

Report by Human Rights Watch details harrowing accounts of sexual abuse

An image depicting systemic sexual violence against women in North Korea
(Image credit: Source: Human Rights Watch)

North Korean women are routinely the targets of sexual violence, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch, released today.

Government officials, prison guards, interrogators, police, prosecutors and soldiers operate with near-total impunity, to the point where “unwanted sexual contact and violence is so common in North Korea it has come to be accepted as part of ordinary life”, says the report.

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