C. On-site research on Human Rights Conditions of Torture Victims The Commission called the public’s attention to the severity of damage inflicted by torture and urged the government to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Anti-Torture Treaty. It also carried out the first-ever comprehensive and in-depth survey by a government body to identify conditions and status of victims tortured by government organizations and attempted to provide a basis for legal system and policies to prevent and abolish torture and support victims. The survey classified torture as physical torture, psychological torture, torture by deprivation, and forced nudity. Degree of pain and suffering were segmented into social and psychological suffering, health condition, trauma, suicide attempt, etc., and it found that 60% of the victims were suffering from serious financial difficulties. In terms of health conditions, victims had experienced or were experiencing alcohol dependence, orthopedic illnesses, depression, or schizophrenia while 76.5% (163 persons) responded they suffered trauma, indicating the seriousness of psychological impact inflicted by torture. With 24.4% having attempted suicide, the figure is 4 times higher than 7.6% of the elderly aged 65 or older who admitted in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys in 2007 to having thought about committing suicide in the past year. In addition, family members of victims were interrogated or subjected to surveillance or witnessed torture, suffered discrimination in education and employment and faced social and economic difficulties, and suffered from psychological trauma of being alienated or ostracized by others. Based on the survey, the Commission will make multi-faceted efforts to raise awareness of severity of torture damage and ensure social support and supportive system. D. On-site research on Discriminatory Hiring Practices The Commission conducted a survey of discriminatory hiring practices with help of the Center for Legal Support for Women at Work to gather data on degree and extent of 60 Part II. Major Activities of the Commission