Gwangju City Strengthens Child Abuse Response System

19 Dedicated Public Officials Assigned Until July... 24-Hour Report Reception, etc.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Amid recent social issues surrounding child abuse cases, Gwangju Metropolitan City is strengthening its child abuse response system.

According to Gwangju City on the 23rd, the number of child abuse reports in the Gwangju area last year was 860, of which 694 cases (80.7%) were confirmed as child abuse.

Also, the average annual number of reports over the past three years was 1,029, with 844 cases confirmed as abuse.

Gwangju City analyzes that the decrease in abuse reports last year was due to delayed school openings and daycare centers caused by COVID-19, which led to a reduction in reports from mandatory reporters.

To prevent situations where it becomes difficult to detect abused children due to lifestyle changes caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the city is strengthening a field-centered child abuse response system.

Gwangju City has established a system that can respond quickly after receiving reports.

First, to prevent confusion for reporters, if child abuse is suspected, they are urged to report using the police (112) or the ‘Aijikim Call’ app. For child abuse consultations rather than reports, call 129 (Health and Welfare Counseling Center).

Dispatches are carried out jointly by the police, dedicated child abuse public officials, and child protection specialized agencies, and the fine imposed for refusal of on-site investigation will be raised from 5 million won to 10 million won.

If determined to be child abuse, follow-up measures such as establishing a protection plan for the victimized child and investigating the perpetrator will be implemented.

Until now, the child protection specialized agencies, private organizations that conducted victim investigations in Gwangju City, will accompany and support on-site investigations until September 2023 to help establish the dedicated public official system, and will be responsible for preventing re-abuse through treatment, counseling, and case management.

As part of the ‘Publicization Project for Child Abuse Investigation’ underway since October last year, Gwangju City plans to deploy a total of 19 dedicated child abuse public officials in Gwangju City and its autonomous districts. The deployed officials will be responsible for tasks such as receiving reports, on-site investigations, and establishing protection plans for victimized children, working 24 hours a day.

Previously, by January this year, a total of 11 dedicated public officials were deployed in Dong-gu, Buk-gu, and Gwangsan-gu, and 8 dedicated public officials will be deployed in Seo-gu and Nam-gu during the first half of the year. Additionally, the number of dedicated public officials will be continuously expanded in preparation for the implementation of the immediate separation system following the revision of the Child Welfare Act.

To enhance the expertise of dedicated public officials, new hires will have their job training hours increased from the existing 80 hours to a total of 160 hours, and experienced officials will receive 40 hours of job training annually.

Also, the number of child protection dedicated personnel in autonomous districts who check the caregiving status of separated children will be gradually increased from the current 11 to 19 by next year.

Using the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s big data system (e-Child Happiness Support), which predicts households requiring child protection such as those with long-term absences or missed vaccinations, autonomous district staff conduct quarterly visits and investigations, and children in crisis are supported through linkage with Dream Start projects or care services.

Joint inspections visiting crisis households together with the police and specialized agencies are also conducted regularly.

In preparation for the ‘Immediate Separation System’ to be implemented from the 30th of next month, infrastructure to protect victimized children will be expanded and a situation response system will be established.

The Immediate Separation System is a system that immediately separates and temporarily protects victimized children in appropriate facilities or homes when abuse is strongly suspected, such as when reports are made more than twice a year.

In preparation, the number of child abuse victim shelters will be expanded from 2 to 5, and until the expansion is complete, child care facilities, group homes, and crisis child family protection projects will be utilized to protect victimized children.

Additionally, Gwangju City will form a metropolitan child protection dedicated organization together with the National Police Agency, the Office of Education, and specialized agencies to share the progress of each institution’s ‘Child and Youth Abuse Prevention Measures’ quarterly and check the response system.

Furthermore, medical support will be strengthened by promoting the designation of dedicated medical institutions for treating abused children, and campaigns to raise awareness of child abuse will be conducted.

Gwak Hyun-mi, Director of the Women and Family Bureau of the city, said, “Deep interest and active reporting by those around are essential to prevent child abuse,” adding, “We will organize the system so that children can grow up healthily and make greater efforts to prevent abuse.”

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