Measures to Protect the Victim’s Human Rights During Trial
Justice Department Specializing in Sex Trafficking-Related Crimes- The presiding officer of the district court or High Court shall designate a justice department to specialize in sex trafficking crimes (sex trafficking-related crimes, hereinafter referred to as “Sex Trafficking”) and proceed with trial for the victim of sex trafficking (Article 28 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes).
Non-Disclosure of the Hearing of a Trial- The hearing of the trial regarding sex trafficking may be determined confidential to protect the privacy of the victim of sex trafficking and the reporter (accuser) (Article 9, paragraph 1 of the Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts, Etc., and Article 31, paragraph 1 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes).
- The victim of sex trafficking summoned as a witness, and the victim’s family may request the evidence examination to be held confidentially to protect privacy, etc. (Article 9, paragraph 2 of the Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts, Etc., and Article 31, paragraph 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes).
Utilizing the Video as Evidence- Videos filming the victim’s statement, etc. may be used as evidence when the victim of sex trafficking, a reliable person accompanied by the victim in the investigation, or the statement assistant states that the victim’s statement is valid on the trial preparation date or trial date (Article 30, paragraph 6 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes).
Claim for Evidence Preservation- Suppose the victim of sex trafficking has a serious reason not to appear in court and testify on the trial date. In this case, the victim of sexual violence, the victim’s legal representative, or police officer may explain the reason and ask the prosecutor in charge of the case investigation to preserve the evidence in regard to a video recording or other proofs (former part of Article 41, paragraph 1 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes).
Exemption for Foreign Victims- After the prosecutor files prosecution on the foreign victim’s sex trafficking case, he/she may request the head of the district immigration office or international office to suspend the evacuation order execution or temporarily terminate protective measures for a certain period. Before the request, the prosecutor must consider the actual condition of the sex trafficking case, evidence statement, the necessity of compensation, and other circumstances (Article 11, paragraph 2 of the Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts, Etc.).
- If suspending the evacuation order execution or temporarily terminating protective measures, the support facility is open for the foreign woman to use (Article 11, paragraph 3 of the Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts, Etc.).