A few days later, the abused soldier made up his mind to report the incident and approached me for my help.” When he got angry, the person abusing him who was his senior started to beat him fiercely and forced him to drink from the toilet bowl. “U”, a former soldier who served about a decade ago, recalled how he was driven to attempt suicide because of the abuse he suffered: “One night, I saw a soldier being sexually abused. Soldiers who spoke to Amnesty International said they experienced intimidation, violence, and isolation as a result of the criminalization of sex between men in the military. I was subjected to physical violence and humiliation for three hours, which included being forced to have oral and anal sex with the original victim while the senior soldier made taunting remarks, such as: ‘Don’t you want to have sex with a woman-like man?’ “U”, a former soldier was driven to attempt suicide because of the abuse he suffere Many former and current soldiers consider this to be toxic. Though criminalization is only applicable within the military, the fact that approximately half of the population goes through compulsory military service early in life means that criminalization has a significant social impact. Criminalization creates an environment where discrimination is tolerated, and even encouraged, based solely on who someone is. In South Korea, it is compulsory for all men to perform a minimum 21 months of military service.
![buff korean gay sex buff korean gay sex](https://64.media.tumblr.com/60fe6ae1ec2d6081a645d487135e0b5e/a8d2766323184d75-b2/s500x750/2c519bc84accf8ee753ff90e54d23bfc31b5ae3a.png)
Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International. The criminalization of same-sex sexual activity is devastating for the lives of so many LGBTI soldiers. South Korea’s military must stop treating LGBTI people as the enemy. It is long overdue for the military to acknowledge that a person’s sexual orientation is totally irrelevant to their ability to serve.”
![buff korean gay sex buff korean gay sex](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2a/6b/3b/2a6b3bdc7207b6caa03f0ed46ebc4b85--muscle-hunks-muscle-men.jpg)
“This hostile environment fosters abuse and bullying of young men who stay silent out of fear of reprisals. The criminalization of same-sex sexual activity is devastating for the lives of so many LGBTI soldiers and has repercussions in the broader society,” said Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International. “South Korea’s military must stop treating LGBTI people as the enemy. Article 92-6 of the country’s Military Criminal Act punishes sexual relations between men in the military, either on or off duty, with up to two years in prison under an “indecent acts” clause. Serving in Silence: LGBTI People in South Korea’s Military reveals the destructive impact criminalizing consensual same-sex activity in South Korea’s military has on LGBTI people. Gay and trans soldiers in South Korea face violence, harassment and pervasive discrimination due to the criminalization of consensual sex between men in the military, Amnesty International said as it released a new report outlining why this unjust law must be abolished.
![buff korean gay sex buff korean gay sex](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c223396d999e9eba79c736753e5ac19d/tumblr_orouq7HxRA1uihfelo1_400.jpg)
JSouth Korea: Criminalization of sex between men in military fuels violence, abuse and discrimination