Gender Matters in the Judiciary: Adjudicating Sexual Assault in Korea

Does the gender of judges matter in adjudicating sex crimes? This talk explores whether the gender composition of the bench influences how judges express dissent, apply legal reasoning, and determine sentencing in rape cases. Based on 42 in-depth semi-structured interviews with legal elites in Korea, I show that having a female judge on the bench, especially at a sufficiently high rank, can increase the sentence length of rape offenders and challenge socially embedded gender bias against female victims. This finding provides crucial empirical evidence and theoretical insights for scholars and legislators on the importance of gender diversity in the judiciary, particularly in cases involving sexual violence.