여군 인권의 실태조사 분석 연구 -여군의 인권전반과 차별의 인식 및 실태를 중심으로-

Abstract

This paper is a research and analysis conducted by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea on the scope of the guarantee of female soldiers’ human rights in the 2019 Military Human Rights Survey, and the scope of research is also limited to human dignity and equal rights. In preparation for the plan to expand the female military’s workforce from about 2 percent as of 2019, to about 10 percent in the future, the military is said to be preparing measures for the female military-related system and welfare facilities, and there is little discrimination in the system or the law. However, there is still a lot of discrimination in the treatment and awareness situations that are unfavorable to female soldiers who still appear in reality, and this study shows this. The experience of unfair treatment and verbal abuse in the survey of female soldiers’ rights still far exceeds 30 percent. The resulting loss of human dignity can lead to skepticism about the value of human existence, and the result can lead to adverse effects on the life and service of female soldiers’ in the military. Therefore, it is necessary to make continuous national efforts to eradicate acts that violate human dignity as stipulated in Article 10 of our Constitution. Military officials need to improve their awareness of maintaining military order through respect for human rights, not through leadership by compensatory psychology, and strengthen their sense of human rights for military officials in a position to lead the improvement of human rights. Article 11 of the Korean Constitution stipulates the right to equality, and the basic law on gender equality based on it stipulates gender equality, but surveys show that unequal treatment and discrimination are still taking place in the military service scene. And even though Article 32 Clause 4 of the Constitution stipulates that “women’s work is specially protected and does not receive unfair discrimination in employment, wages and working conditions,” it was investigated that women’s work within the super-male territory of the military cannot feel any special protection, and rather are discriminated against more disadvantageously than men’s. Female soldiers are an absolute minority group that is at a disadvantage in opportunity and power, and the state should ensure special protection in the performance of female soldiers’ military duties. The path to advanced country of the soldiers’ human rights should be presented within the military, not outside the military, and the path lies in the improvement of the perception of executive officers in the military and the enhancement of human rights awareness through communication between executive and subordinate officers and colleagues. Efforts within the military to reduce the gap in human rights standards and social awareness and thinking can lead to the realization of the guarantee of female soldiers’ rights.