본 연구는 이태원 클럽발 집단감염사태에서 나타난 윤리 딜레마적 요소들을 살펴보고, 이것이 상담자들에게 어떠한 함의를 주는지 분석하기 위해 수행되었다. 이를 위해 치명적인 감염병에 걸렸거나 감염 위험이 있는 성 소수자 내담자와의 상담과 관련하여 국내․외 윤리강령들을 검토하고, 국내의 감염병과 관련된 법률들을 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 성 소수자가 감염병에 걸렸거나, 감염 위험성이 높은 경우 중 제3자에 대한 위험이 있는 매우 특수한 경우에, 신중한 의사결정을 거쳐 비밀보장을 파기할 수 있으나, 이 과정에서 내담자는 성적 지향이 드러나 혐오와 차별에 노출될 수 있기에 상담자는 다각적인 요소를 고려해 최고의 신중을 기해야 한다. 이와 같은 과정에 대해 국내 학회들의 윤리강령들은 누락하고 있는 내용 요소들이 상당히 있었으며, 별도의 지침이나 보조 조항들도 부재하였다. 다음으로 보다 넓은 맥락에서 감염병과 관련된 두 가지의 국내 현행법을 분석한 결과, 경고 의무에 해당하는 상황에 대해 상담자의 신고 의무를 규정한 법률은 없으나, 감염병의 종류와 상황에 따라 내담자의 상담자 방문 사실에 대한 신고가 필요한 상황은 발생할 수 있었다. 그러나 법적인 신고의 의무가 없다고 해도, 상담자에게는 Tarasoff 판례를 통해 각인되어 있는 자신과 타인에 의한 위험 경고의 의무가 여전히 존재한다. 이에 본 연구에서는 선행 연구 분석을 통하여 상담자들이 성 소수자의 감염병 관련 비밀보장에 대한 윤리적 의사결정 상황에서 참고할만한 사실 정보들과 상담자 성찰을 위한 질문들, 의사결정 단계에 대한 정보를 제공하고자 하였다.
This study was conducted to examine the ethical dilemma that emerged from the Itaewon club mass infection case and to analyze the implications for counselors. To this end, counseling ethical codes of Korean and American counseling related associations, and current Korean laws regarding the infectious diseases were analyzed in connection to counseling with sexual minorities. The result shows that in very special cases if sexual minorities have an infectious disease or are at high risk to third parties, the confidentiality can be revoked through careful decision-making. However, the counselor should be careful in consideration of various factors, as the sexual orientation of the client can be exposed to public disgust and discrimination. Regarding that considerable point, content elements were significantly missing in the code of ethics of Korean academic socities, and there were no separate guidelines or supplementary provisions. Next, an analysis of two current Korean laws related to infectious diseases in a broader context indicated that no laws stipulated the obligation of counselors to report the specific counseling content but depending on the type and circumstances of the infectious disease, there could be situations in which reporting of the client list was required. However, even if there is no legal obligation to report, the counselor still must warn clients themselves and others of risk based on the professional ethics, which is imprinted through the Tarasoff precedent. In this study, the factual information that counselors can refer to in ethical decision-making situations regarding the confidentiality of infectious diseases of sexual minorities, questions for counselors’ reflection, and information on decision-making step are provided through the analysis of precedent researches.
This study was conducted to examine the ethical dilemma that emerged from the Itaewon club mass infection case and to analyze the implications for counselors. To this end, counseling ethical codes of Korean and American counseling related associations, and current Korean laws regarding the infectious diseases were analyzed in connection to counseling with sexual minorities. The result shows that in very special cases if sexual minorities have an infectious disease or are at high risk to third parties, the confidentiality can be revoked through careful decision-making. However, the counselor should be careful in consideration of various factors, as the sexual orientation of the client can be exposed to public disgust and discrimination. Regarding that considerable point, content elements were significantly missing in the code of ethics of Korean academic socities, and there were no separate guidelines or supplementary provisions. Next, an analysis of two current Korean laws related to infectious diseases in a broader context indicated that no laws stipulated the obligation of counselors to report the specific counseling content but depending on the type and circumstances of the infectious disease, there could be situations in which reporting of the client list was required. However, even if there is no legal obligation to report, the counselor still must warn clients themselves and others of risk based on the professional ethics, which is imprinted through the Tarasoff precedent. In this study, the factual information that counselors can refer to in ethical decision-making situations regarding the confidentiality of infectious diseases of sexual minorities, questions for counselors’ reflection, and information on decision-making step are provided through the analysis of precedent researches.
