The number of female victims of sexual abuse, including rape, is eight times greater than the official tally, a recent study shows.
In an analysis of the gap between official and actual crime rates, a researcher at the Korean Institute of Criminology wrote that an estimated
467.7 out of every 100,000 women were victims of sexual abuse in 2008, a figure eight times larger than the 58.3 women recorded in official
statistics.
The comparison drew from a sample study of 5,559 women, of whom 26 admitted to having experienced sexual harassment or rape.
The large difference indicates that only one in eight women reported the crimes, as the victims were deterred by society's negative view of sex
crimes and their sense of shame, according to the study. It also stressed the need for various mechanisms to encourage victims to come forward.
The number of rape victims out of 100,000 stood at 36, or 9.5 times the official number. The analysis also shows that house burglaries were
committed over 10 times more frequently than reported.