OBJECTIVES: Human rights education programs have been implemented annually since Korea enacted human rights legislation in 2009. The purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes of Korean psychiatrists toward human rights education and assess the relevance of the provided education materials. METHODS: Questionnaires comprised of 8 items were provided to 274 psychiatrists attending the April 2015 Korean Neuropsychiatric Association seminar. In addition, 12 cases related to education material developed by the Korean National Human Rights Commission were examined to determine whether the material's content was relevant and appropriate for human rights education. RESULTS: Data from 267 psychiatrists that answered all requested questions were included in the analysis. Although respondents in general accepted the beneficial intent of human rights education, the majority of respondents (71.5%) disagreed with the mandatory 4 h of annual human rights education. Approximately half of respondents (49.4%) believed that frequency of such education should be decreased. A substantial percentage of respondents (38.7%) expressed overall dissatisfaction with the education program, and more than half of respondents (55.6%) were skeptical that the current education program could produce a real difference in attitudes toward human rights. The case reviews highlighted several problems. First, all education materials were heavily weighted toward psychiatric hospitalization legal proceedings rather than human rights. Among the 12 cases examined, four were considered inappropriate for human rights education because they were presented as if human rights abuse was synonymous with violation of a law, even if the law was ambiguous. CONCLUSION: The current human rights education program does not meet psychiatrists' expectations. The results of this study suggest there is a need to reconsider the purpose and means of providing human rights education to psychiatrists.
Education* ; Hospitalization ; Human Rights Abuses ; Human Rights* ; Humans* ; Jurisprudence ; Korea ; Psychiatry* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Child ; Child Abuse ; legislation & jurisprudence ; prevention & control ; China ; Delivery of Health Care ; organization & administration ; Domestic Violence ; legislation & jurisprudence ; prevention & control ; Female ; Human Rights Abuses ; legislation & jurisprudence ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Violence ; legislation & jurisprudence ; prevention & control ; World Health Organization ; organization & administration

Transplant tourism (TT) has developed into a global concern for international organizations, transplant communities, researchers, and the press. Increasing the knowledge of organ trafficking and TT is essential to raise awareness and prepare responses that will prevent the occurrence of illicit organ transplantation through TT. This review article describes the current status and legal framework of international organ trafficking and TT. Collection and analysis of data concerning TT from national and international registries will provide the best estimates of global activities, which are necessary to develop an appropriate local and worldwide collaborative response to organ trafficking and TT. International collaboration and multifaceted strategies are needed to address the complex challenges of TT.
Cooperative Behavior ; Organ Trafficking ; Organ Transplantation ; Registries ; Transplants

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to identify posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery during World War II. METHODS : Twenty six survived victims were evaluated with Korean version of SCID-IV, MMSE, Geriatric Depression Scale and State and Trait Anger Inventory (STAXI) and Rorschach test, and compared with 24 healthy women elders. RESULTS : Results showed that, of 26 victims, 8 victims (30.8%) met criteria of PTSD and all 26 had suffered from symptoms of PTSD once in their lives. Their PTSD symptoms were characterized by the effort to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma and recurrent distressing dreams of the events. Survivors with PTSD had more serious depression. Compared with the control group, victims had more difficulties in anger control. They still suffer from various physical sequelae of physical trauma. In Rorschach test, they showed distorted perceptions, difficulty in managing emotional reactions, invading thoughts, impulsivity, and internalized anger and aggression. CONCLUSION : All victims suffered from symptoms of PTSD one time or another. About one third of them were diagnosed as having PTSD. Their PTSD symptoms were complicated by the mixtures depression, anger and various physical sequelae of physical trauma.
Aggression ; Anger ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Depression ; Dreams ; Female ; Humans ; Impulsive Behavior ; Military Personnel ; Rorschach Test ; Sex Offenses ; Slavery ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* ; Survivors ; World War II*

“Comfort women” are survivors of sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, who endured extensive trauma including massive rape and physical torture. While previous studies have been focused on the trauma of the survivors themselves, the effects of the trauma on the offspring has never been evaluated before. In this article, we reviewed the first study on the offspring of former “comfort women” and aimed to detect the evidence of transgenerational transmission of trauma. In-depth psychiatric interviews and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Axis I Disorders were conducted with six offspring of former “comfort women.” Among the six participants, five suffered from at least one psychiatric disorder including major depressive disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, insomnia disorder, somatic symptom disorder, and alcohol use disorder. Participants showed similar shame and hyperarousal symptoms as their mothers regarding stimuli related to the “comfort woman” issue. Increased irritability, problems with aggression control, negative worldview, and low self-esteem were evident in the children of mothers with posttraumatic stress disorder. Finding evidence of transgenerational transmission of trauma in offspring of “comfort women” is important. Future studies should include more samples and adopt a more objective method.
Adjustment Disorders ; Aggression ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Humans ; Methods ; Military Personnel ; Mothers ; Panic Disorder ; Rape ; Shame ; Slavery ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Survivors ; Torture ; World War II

“Comfort women” refers to young women and girls who were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese military during World War II. They were abducted from their homes in countries under Imperial Japanese rule, mostly from Korea, and the rest from China, Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Netherlands, etc. “Comfort women” endured extreme trauma involving rape, sexual torture, physical abuse, starvation, threats of death, and witnessed many others being tortured and killed. This article reviews all the studies that have investigated the psychiatric or psychosocial sequelae of the survivors of the Japanese military sexual slavery. Most importantly, a recent study which conducted a psychiatric evaluation on the former “comfort women” currently alive in South Korea is introduced. The participants’ unmarried rate was relatively high and their total fertility rate was relatively low. Majority of the participants reported having no education and being the low economic status. They showed high current and lifetime prevalence of posttraumatic disorder, major depressive disorder, somatic symptom disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and alcohol use disorder. Participants showed high suicidality and majority of the participants still reported being ashamed of being former “comfort women” after all these years. This article high-lights the fact that the trauma has affected the mental health and social functioning of former “comfort women” throughout their lives, and even to the present day.
Anxiety Disorders ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Birth Rate ; China ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Indonesia ; Korea ; Malaysia ; Mental Health ; Military Personnel* ; Netherlands ; Panic Disorder ; Philippines ; Physical Abuse ; Prevalence ; Rape ; Single Person ; Slavery* ; Starvation ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Survivors* ; Taiwan ; Torture ; World War II*