Assemblywoman Yang Hyang-ja Proposes Bill to Mandate Treatment for Child Abuse Victims

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Representative Yang Hyang-ja (The Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Seo-gu Eul) announced on the 18th that she has taken the lead in proposing the “Child Welfare Act Amendment” which mandates counseling, education, and psychological treatment for child abuse victims and their guardians.

The amendment includes provisions that require abused children and their families to participate in psychological and medical treatment programs provided to them, and imposes fines on guardians if they fail to comply.

It also aims to institutionalize the sharing of abuse-related information between local governments when at-risk children move residences, to prevent management gaps.

According to the “Statistics on Child Abuse Report Reception and Judgment Cases” submitted to Representative Yang by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of child abuse reports more than doubled from 10,027 cases in 2014 to 24,604 cases in 2018.

In particular, emotional abuse increased by 3.7 times, and sexual abuse by about 3 times. During the same period, the number of re-abused children also rose from 873 to 2,195, more than 2.5 times, highlighting the urgent need to mandate treatment for abused children.

However, as of 2018, although 36,417 suspected child abuse cases were reported and 24,604 were confirmed as child abuse, only 15 abused children and their families received government-contracted programs.

Representative Yang stated, “The government operates contracted programs that provide individual and family counseling to abused children, perpetrators, parents, or families under court orders, but since participation is only recommended, actual operation is very insufficient.” She added, “Through this amendment, counseling and treatment for abused children will be made mandatory, and penalties will be imposed on guardians who fail to comply, which will help support the healthy growth of abused children.”

When abused children move residences, they have been left in blind spots of management, leading to repeated abuse. This amendment also includes measures to address this issue.

Representative Yang said, “Recently, a child who escaped abuse in Changnyeong, Gyeongnam, was found to have not received proper management after moving residence to Changnyeong.” She continued, “This amendment will enable consultation and sharing of abuse-related information between the previous and new local governments, allowing active supervision so that abused children are no longer left in blind spots.”

Meanwhile, the amendment led by Representative Yang includes co-sponsors such as Lee Yong-bin, Shin Jeong-hoon, Hwang Un-ha, Park Sung-joon, Choi Hye-young, Oh Young-hwan, Jeon Hye-sook, Ko Yong-jin, Kim Young-sik, Kim Min-chul, Lee Sung-man, Jung Hee-yong, Sung Il-jong, Jo Kyung-tae, Lee Eun-joo, Kim Min-seok, Jung Un-cheon, Yang Jung-sook, Yoon Jae-gap, Lee Soo-jin (Ji), Lee Young, Kim Young-bae, Ryu Ho-jeong, Kim Hyung-dong, Nam In-soon, Yoon Mi-hyang, and Kwon Chil-seung.

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