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CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CASE OF BINARI, THE RAPE VICTIM.

Park Mihye: media_humanrights@yahoo.com

When she was five years old,from April to June 2007, her father occasionally abused her sexually.Binari is now a girl of six-year-old. Her trial at the Magistrate Court was taken up on 3rd April 2008. The case was however postponed to the 16th of October on grounds that the alleged perpetrator was not present at the hearing.

When the judge asked why the accused was not arrested, the arresting officers, who were in charge of arresting the accused, gave the excuse that he has given them the run around. In this situation Binari’s grandmother doubts that the police officers might have accepted a bribe from the accused, considering the police officer's weak excuse. There is also no assurance that there is no connection between the police officer and Binari’s father, the accused.

Personally, I can say that this case has significance to the Korean situation. In Korea, there are many children who got sexually abused by stepparents, by a family member, or a villager.

After the children’s sexual abuses are revealed and cases filed against it, the court rejects most of these cases because the child's testimony is too infantile to carry any weight. Even though the abused children are victims, the court is not willing to accept their testimony for the simple reason of their age.

Compared with the Korean situation, the encouraging thing about this case is that Binari is one the first witness to be given attention. The court has at least  taken action to hear her words. Binari and her grandmother have just begun fighting for RIGHTS, and it will probably take a long time. So, continuous support is needed to pursue and not abandon their case.