Gwanak-gu, Creating a Safe City for Single Women Households

Safe Home Set, Security Windows & Screens, Emergency Bell Support for Single Women Households... 'Nation's First' Support for Wandering Detection Devices for Women with Intellectual Disabilities, Installation of Smart Safety Lighting, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Junhee) has recently attracted attention by significantly expanding women's safety policies to prevent crimes targeting women, a recent social issue.

Gwanak-gu has the highest proportion of single-woman households in the country (26.3%), with facilities such as gosiwon and one-room apartments densely concentrated, which are vulnerable to crime. Since the launch of the 7th local government administration, various women’s safety-related policies have been implemented.

First, to eradicate digital sex crimes, in October 2018, Gwanak-gu became the ‘nation’s first’ to offer a service allowing any resident to rent illegal filming camera detectors at nearby community service centers. They have also formed and operate a neighborhood women’s safety resident monitoring group consisting of about 200 members, including women’s organizations and volunteers.

In August last year, in collaboration with the local police station, they newly launched the ‘Women’s Safe One-Room’ certification project to create a safe residential environment. When a one-room building owner or resident requests certification, a joint inspection with the police is conducted on 65 items, and if certain criteria are met, the one-room is certified as excellent and patrols in the surrounding area are strengthened.

Additionally, to create safe villages for single-woman households, after supporting 170 households with safety home sets last year, this year they will provide safety home 3-piece sets (auxiliary door key, door opening sensor, portable emergency bell) to 200 households.

Starting from July this year, four neighborhoods with high risks of residential intrusion (Cheongnyong-dong, Sinwon-dong, Seowon-dong, Seorim-dong) have been selected as pilot areas, and a new project has begun to support a total of 200 households with safety security windows or safety insect screens.

Along with this, 25 stores operated solely by single-woman household owners (store owners) will be equipped with and supported for emergency safety bells, creating crime-safe stores and assisting the economic activities of women small business owners.

In January this year, for the ‘nation’s first’ time, a support project was implemented for 100 people, including women with developmental disabilities (ages 12?39) and borderline intellectual disability adolescents (ages 12?18), providing ‘wandering detectors’ equipped with GPS trackers to protect the safety of intellectually disabled women.

In March this year, near Sillim Station, 10 smart safety lights using AI and other advanced technologies were installed on a pilot basis for the ‘nation’s first’ time. These lights detect potential crime or accident situations in advance and notify the smart control center.

In addition, a total of 183 multi-purpose CCTV cameras for crime prevention will be newly installed this year at 49 vulnerable locations, and efforts are being made to create a safe walking environment through the creation of safe alleys and installation of design lighting.

Gwanak-gu was selected as a ‘Women-Friendly City’ designated by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in January this year, and on the 26th of last month, held the launch ceremony of the ‘Gwanak Crime-Free Safe City (TF),’ focusing on discovering women’s safety policies tailored to local characteristics and preparing comprehensive measures for crime prevention.

Mayor Park Junhee said, “In line with the regional characteristic of having the highest proportion of single-woman households nationwide (26.3%), we will discover and promote various policies for women’s safety and create a living environment where women can live with peace of mind.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.