Seoul to strengthen protection for victims of child abuse, domestic violence

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- The government will expand shelters for women or
children suffering from domestic violence or sexual abuse, reinforcing social
protection for the weak, the Ministry of Gender Equality said Wednesday.
Foreign wives living in Korea who face difficulties in dealing with language and
cultural differences can call experts employed by the government and receive
legal help along with interpretation services, the ministry said in its 2009
policy report to the president.
According to government data, over 530,000 foreigners and immigrants were living
in Korea as of May this year, up 35 percent from the same period last year. Forty
percent of Korean men working on farms married foreign wives in 2007.
The government will also run special classes for husbands who plan to marry
foreign women, educating them on international marriage and gender equality.
Those who attend the classes will be given advantages in getting visas, the
ministry said.
Community centers for abused children, especially for the sexually molested, will
be increased to 10 from the current four set up only in major cities, offering a
legal consultant and medical care to the victims and their families.
Over the past five years, the number of cases of sexual violence has jumped by
32.3 percent, but sexual assaults against children under age of 13 have increased
80.2 percent, according to the ministry.
Studies have shown that domestic violence increases as economic crises worsen.
During the Asian financial crisis in late 1990s, the number of domestic violence
cases in the country jumped to some 13,000 in 2000 from 3,600 in 1998.
As the nation struggles with another economic crisis, the government will operate
a 24-hour emergency call center for women suffering from domestic abuse, the
ministry said.
The government also plans to establish communal residences for women who flee
from home, aimed at helping them gain financial independence, the ministry added.
"The Ministry of Gender Equality will concentrate efforts to build a society
where children and women can live safely, as well as to overcome the economic
recession," Kim Tae-seok, head of the Office of Planning and Coordination, said.
brk@yna.co.kr
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