SEOUL, South Korea — In an unusual move, the South Korean police force is using Facebook to defend itself against an Australian woman who claims she did not get proper attention when she reported her rape.

Airdre Mattner, who teaches English in Japan, says she was on holiday in South Korea’s capital city last September when she was drugged during a pub crawl and taken to a hotel room. She recalls being raped, waking up naked and alone without her money and her belongings strewn around the room.

When she went to the police station to report the incident, officers reportedly questioned her "insultingly." Although staff examined her while she was in stirrups, they did not take DNA evidence from her body, she alleges in her GoFundMe page, which she started to cover her legal fees and related expenses.

Now, Mattner is pursuing the case in London, where she believes her rapist lives.

The Korean police responded to her allegations in a lengthy Facebook post (both in English and Korean) on its public page:

In a point-by-point take-down, the police say they did take proper DNA evidence at a hospital, and they are using it to match possible suspects.

They claim that the female officer who took Mattner's statement asked "no insulting questions."

This was the first time Korean police has used Facebook to respond to a crime victim.

The Yongsan Police Department’s women and youth division section chief told Mashable that this is the first time the department used Facebook to respond to a victim.

He said the police wanted to directly respond to Mattner’s GoFundMe page, but chose Facebook because GoFundMe "required" it.

The chief added that, while they had Mattner’s email address, she had communicated with them through her embassy after leaving the country, so they resorted to talking with the embassy rather than via private email.

The police statement has invited a backlash, mostly from foreign residents in South Korea. They are calling the open letter “unbelievable” and “unprofessional.”

“An open letter to a victim of rape? Moreover, disputing the information provided by the victim. Fax? Unbelievable,” one comment read.

Mattner told Mashable that she found out about the post when a Yongsan police officer linked to it on her GoFundMe page.

She says she stopped trying to contact the police directly after they ceased communications in September and ignored her emails and questions.

"I have followed formal channels and requested all details, documents and explanations and directed questions through the embassy," she said.

The Australian Embassy in Seoul told Mashable that “consular officials continue to closely monitor Ms Mattner’s case and are liaising with Korean authorities.” The embassy declined to comment further.

Kayla Lim contributed to this article.

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