韩国认定性骚扰为“工伤”可获赔

A South Korean woman who suffered repeated sexual harassment

at work will be awarded compensation, the state workers' welfare agency said in a landmark ruling which acknowledged her suffering amounted to a work-related injury。

Saturday's judgment marked the first time that suffering caused by sexual harassment has been classed as a workplace injury, and many other victims are now likely to file similar appeals with the agency, the Yonhap news service reported。

According to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, the woman, whose name was withheld for reasons of privacy, had suffered from unwelcome sexual advances from two men at her company since 2009.

The woman, who worked at an autoparts maker in the southwestern city of Asan for the past 14 years, was repeatedly groped, and also received lewd text messages。

A medical document said she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, experiencing intrusive recollections of the harassment, showed exaggerated startle response and suffered from a sleep disorder。

The National Human Rights Commission earlier recommended that the two male officials should pay a total of nine million won (US$7,725) in compensation。

The victim will be paid for her medical expenses and receive other financial compensation, the welfare agency said。

韩国职工补偿和福利服务机构近日决定，将赔偿一名在工作期间频遭性骚扰的韩国女职员，这个标志性的裁决认定她的遭遇相当于受“工伤”。

据韩联社报道，上周六的判决首次把因遭遇性骚扰引起的身心伤害纳入工伤范畴。不少有类似遭遇的韩国女性可能会向这一机构提出类似申诉。

出于保护隐私考虑，韩国职工补偿和福利服务机构没有公开这名女子的姓名。2009年以来她一直遭受公司两名男性的令人厌恶的性骚扰。

这名女子为韩国西南部牙山市的一家汽车零件承包商供职14年，这期间她屡次被摸，并收到猥亵手机短信。

医学诊断显示，由于性骚扰的回忆重复侵入脑海，受害人患上创伤后应激障碍，表现为反应过激，并出现失眠症状。

韩国全国人权委员会先前要求实施性骚扰的两名男性管理人员赔偿这名女子共计900万韩元(约合7725美元)。

这家福利机构称将承担受害者的医疗费用并给予其他经济补偿。