The nation’s police command -- all 613 senior officials of superintendent rank or higher -- convened at the police headquarters in Seoul for a two-day course on gender sensitivity starting Thursday.

It is the first such gathering since National Police Agency Commissioner General Min Gap-ryong took office in late July.

When a new police chief is sworn in, the agency customarily holds a workshop where the commanding officers discuss important operational and other police matters.

This time, they are attending lectures on gender sensitivity in line with the recent announcement that the police agency would be promoting gender equality across its organizational culture and as part of public safety policy. 

Na Yoon-kyung, president of the Korean Institute for Gender Equality, spoke out on the matter in the context of the #MeToo movement.

“When dealing with violence against women, Korean society and the police must not think from a patriarchal perspective but must see things from the victims’ perspective,” Na said.

Jung Jae-won, a professor who teaches at Kyung Hee University’s Humanitas College, pointed to the need for a gender-sensitive perspective and the need to incorporate gender equality into organizational cultures.

“With recent spycam crimes and other crimes against women, a growing number of women are speaking up about not feeling safe in everyday life,” a police official said.

“The purpose of this course is to help the commanding chief be more gender-sensitive so as to handle women’s safety issues fairly and with more care.”

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)