Social policies and services for survivors of domestic violence in South Korea

Abstract

Social policies and services addressing domestic violence have been developed recently in South Korea but scarcely reported to the international audience. We adopted the empowerment perspective, comprehensively reviewing whether, and how, policies and services empower survivors in Korea. Survivor services and criminal justice responses have great potential for survivor empowerment in Korea. However, these services serve only a limited number of survivors, and police officers often do not arrest perpetrators even though it is encouraged by law. It is critical to increase the number of service providers and make sure that training for law enforcement personnel is fully funded and appropriately implemented nationwide.

Factors Associated With Willingness To Report Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) to Police in South Korea

“…Despite this serious rate of violence, the lack of awareness that IPV should be handled by the criminal justice system has led to a lack of police response when victims have sought help (Hong et al, 2010). Although the law requires that police officers respond to calls immediately and take Emergency Temporary Measures such as "stopping violence, separating survivors from perpetrators, conducting criminal investigations, and accompanying survivors to needed services, such as counseling centers, shelters, or medical facilities (Cho et al, 2019(Cho et al, , p. 1365," the police rarely use these measures to protect victims (Cho et al, 2019). Due to a lack of proactive police response, individuals who experience IPV or who know someone in an abusive relationship tend not to report these problems to law enforcement even if they are willing to do so.…”

The United Nations Victim Approach Revisited: A Review of the Literature on Sexual Assault and Gender-Based Violence Hotlines

“…Laws that protect victims of domestic violence supported several programs and policies in South Korea, such as shelters and hotline services. Regardless of the recent expansion of domestic violence policies, Cho et al (2019) concluded that "these services are currently serving a limited number of survivors, leaving many survivors out of reach" (p. 1367). While the authors do not provide further information on this limitation, we suggest that these findings show a need to expand access and knowledge of services for VOV.…”

“…Hotline programs are also actively being used in South Korea through the coordinated efforts of governmental and non-profit agencies. Today, there is one hotline system called 1366 hotline that is operated by 18 local offices through the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and nonprofit organizations (Cho et al, 2019). Laws that protect victims of domestic violence supported several programs and policies in South Korea, such as shelters and hotline services.…”