Sexual Crimes Against Disabled Persons: 4 Out of 10 Cases Committed by Acquaintances

Police, Local Governments Jointly Conduct Facility Inspections and Prevention Activities
Proactive Response and Victim Protection and Support

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Amid ongoing sexual violence crimes targeting socially vulnerable people with disabilities, it has been revealed that 4 out of 10 sexual violence crimes against people with disabilities are committed by 'acquaintance offenders.' As calls for thorough prior management arise, the police have launched proactive inspections of residential facilities for people with disabilities nationwide.

According to the National Police Agency on the 20th, sexual crimes against people with disabilities increased by 22.4% over seven years, from 656 cases in 2012 to 803 cases last year. In particular, in 2019, acquaintance offenders accounted for 37.3% of sexual offenders targeting people with disabilities. This is more than 13 percentage points higher compared to the 24.6% acquaintance offender rate among all sexual offenders.

According to a report titled "A Study on the Actual Conditions and Measures of Crime Victimization of People with Disabilities" published by the Korea Institute of Criminology, 47.2% of 1,302 crimes against people with disabilities were sexual violence crimes. Summarizing this, one out of every two crimes against people with disabilities is a sexual crime, and a significant portion of these sexual crimes are committed by acquaintances. Furthermore, proactive inspections of sexual crimes against people with disabilities are expected to significantly help prevent other crimes such as abuse.

In line with this, the police will promote "Inspections of Facilities for People with Disabilities and Sexual Violence Prevention Activities" together with local governments and related organizations until the 9th of next month. This is to prevent related crimes in advance through proactive inspections. Earlier this year, during a joint inspection in the first half, the police discovered five cases of victimization and conducted investigations as well as victim protection and support.

The police first decided to form a joint inspection team consisting of about 1,500 members, including female youth investigators, abuse prevention officers (APO), local governments, and related organizations. The joint inspection team will visit residential facilities for people with disabilities and actively detect signs of sexual violence through interviews with people with disabilities, volunteers, and facility workers. Especially for children and the elderly, who are vulnerable to victimization, the team will closely observe signs of suspected abuse. If crime victimization is confirmed or related intelligence is collected, the case will be transferred to the Special Investigation Team for Crimes Against Women in each provincial police agency, which will provide victim protection and support.

Additionally, detailed guidance on recognizing victimization, reporting methods, and victim protection and support systems will be provided to people with disabilities, facility owners, and workers to encourage active reporting of victimization. Customized educational and promotional activities will be conducted for different targets such as residential facilities and group homes, and meetings with welfare officials from local governments and related organizations will be held to promote community collaboration. However, considering the resurgence of COVID-19, non-face-to-face methods such as video meetings will be actively utilized to gather opinions.

A police official said, "There may be people with disabilities who have difficulty coping because they do not know how to respond when they are victims of sexual crimes," adding, "We will strive to eliminate blind spots in sexual violence against people with disabilities by proactively detecting victimization and promoting active reporting."

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