If North Korea’s women had the chance, they would also be saying #MeToo, according to a new report released on Thursday that documents endemic sexual violence against North Korean women and girls.

Sexual assault and harassment are entrenched in all sectors of North Korea’s “misogynistic” society, reveals the report by London-based Korea Future Initiative, based on the testimony of more than 40 female defectors.

The report’s author, James Burt, warns that human rights, and the widespread abuse of North Korean women, should not be overlooked in the current diplomatic thaw over Pyongyang’s nuclear and weapons programme.

“The current political climate on the Korean peninsula must not cause us to lose sight of our fundamental humanity. The government of North Korea is sanctioning and allowing sexual violence to run rampant through its institutions, public officials, and wider society,” he said.

North Korea’s human rights abuses, including the execution of prisoners and dire conditions in state-run gulags, have been well-documented, but scant attention has been paid to the everyday sexual violence against women.

The report highlights how class, age and status offer no protection for female citizens of the hermit kingdom and how laws designed to uphold their rights are repeatedly bypassed by men with power, money and political influence.