□ “An Olympic First” at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, the Sexual Violence Counseling Center was praised and received much attention by both Korean visitors and the press from around the world including the United States broadcaster’s NBC and CBS.

   ○ If a person falls victim to sexual violence, that person can easily seek counseling. And installing such Sexual Violence Counseling Centers within the sporting venues to spread such a concept during the Olympics, was seen by the press as being very significant.

   ○ In particular, official broadcasters for the Olympics NBC and CBS from the United States, the online press, Huffington Post, the Associated Press, the Netherlands public broadcasting station, NOS and other stations praised the operation of a Sexual Violence Counseling Center set up to assist victims of sexual violence at the Olympics, a major event as known to the public as the Me Too movement that is sweeping the globe. The foreign press reported about the status of women’s rights in Korean society, the motivation for setting up the centers, and the support for the centers.    

   ○ In charge of the general management of the Sexual Violence Counseling Centers, is Kim Seong-suk, the Gangwon Center Director (also a nun), she runs an emergency hotline for women at 1366. People who know her and the press have stated that she has received many calls of support for the meaningful work she is doing during the very meaning time of the Olympics.  

□ As this was the first time such a center was operated at an Olympics, despite facing much difficulty preparing the manuals, system and other requirements, the four centers operated during the Olympics from between February 1st and the 25th received a total of 30 cases in which they were instrumental in not only providing counseling the victims, but psychological treatment, and even legal support.

□ The IOC has early on acknowledge sexual violence as a major problem at sports venues and visited all 4 of the Sexual Violence Counseling Centers and deeply empathized with the need for such centers, and showed resolve to ensure that similar sexual violence related counseling centers be operated during the Beijing Olympics, the next venue for the Winter Olympics. The centers may have helped push the IOC to operate such centers at future international sporting events.

□ The Health, Welfare, and Gender Equality Director, Jang Shi-taek said that from March 4th through March 18th, the Sexual Violence Counseling Centers will continue to be operated as part of utmost efforts to ensure the hosting of a “Paralympics that is safe for women,” and for a “Paralympics free of sexual violence.”

□ The centers will be run in all three venues (Gangneung Olympic Park, PyeongChang Alpensia Biathlon Center, Jeongseon Alpine Park) for the duration of the Paralympics except for PyeongChang Phoenix Snow Park, a venue that will not be used for the Paralympics.

   <Sexual Violence Counseling Center Hotline>

- Gangneung Olympic Park 033-654-1366

- PyeongChang Alpensia Biathlon Center 033-654-3267, 3268,

- Jeongseon Alpine Park 033-654-1369