Seoul City Provides Non-Face-to-Face Support for 'At-Risk Teenage Girls' Made More Vulnerable by COVID-19

Collaborative Management with Police to Prevent Involvement in Prostitution... Strengthening Citizen Watchdog Participation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] # A, who usually used a temporary shelter, recently rented a goshiwon with a friend and is living there. Amid the serious COVID-19 situation, she hesitated to use shelters where she had to stay with strangers. She planned to work part-time with her friend to cover the goshiwon rent and living expenses, but finding a part-time job became so difficult that even getting a meal became a struggle.

On the 27th, Seoul City announced that it is providing various online and offline support to ensure that vulnerable teenage girls in crisis, such as those who have run away from home and are in poor conditions, do not fall into blind spots in quarantine and support due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The city is first supporting non-face-to-face health consultations, medical treatment, and quarantine education so that physically and mentally vulnerable teenage girls in crisis are not isolated from the social safety net. A new psychological and medical program using a video conferencing platform has been introduced, allowing counselors to understand users' nonverbal expressions such as facial expressions and gestures, as well as check the environment where the users are staying.

Since many institutions are closed, essential daily items such as groceries, underwear, sanitary pads, toiletries, and quarantine supplies are being delivered contactlessly in the form of 'emergency supply packages.'

For those whose livelihoods have become more difficult due to COVID-19, non-face-to-face learning and job programs are supported using online platforms. Additionally, to prevent lack of physical activity and nutritional imbalance, new physical activities such as yoga are supported through video apps, and home-cooked meal delivery and mobile lunchbox coupons will also be provided.

As it has become difficult to enter living shelters due to COVID-19, the 'Municipal Teenage Girls Temporary Support Center (Namu)' is operating a temporary shelter. To ensure thorough quarantine, the facility frequently ventilates and disinfects the usage spaces, strictly enforces mask-wearing and hand sanitization, and distributes quarantine supply kits so that users can manage their own hygiene even on a daily basis.

Seoul City has also strengthened early intervention through online counseling to prevent these teenage girls from being drawn into prostitution due to livelihood reasons. In cooperation with police stations across Seoul, professional counselors accompany victimized youths during police investigations, and to block online environments that lure prostitution, citizen participation is being enhanced through a 1,000-member 'Internet Citizen Monitoring Group.'

Especially this year, the 'Anti-Prostitution Online Platform' has been completely revamped to allow not only the Internet Citizen Monitoring Group but also ordinary citizens to easily monitor and actively report harmful prostitution environments encountered in daily life.

Song Da-young, Director of the Seoul City Women and Family Policy Office, said, "Due to COVID-19, teenage girls in crisis are facing even harsher environments both at home and socially. We will actively identify blind spots in support and vigorously promote new projects tailored to their perspectives so that they can grow up safely and healthily."

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