Abuse of People with Disabilities: Reports Decreased but Abuse Cases Increased

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Although the number of reported cases of abuse against persons with disabilities decreased last year, the actual number of abuse cases was found to have increased.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Central Disability Rights Advocacy Agency published the "2020 National Status Report on Abuse of Persons with Disabilities" on the 30th, analyzing reported cases of abuse against persons with disabilities in 2020.

According to the report, the number of reported abuse cases against persons with disabilities last year was 4,208, a 3.8% decrease compared to the previous year. However, the number of cases confirmed as abuse after investigation was 1,008, which actually increased by 6.7%.

Among the types of disabilities of the victims, developmental disabilities accounted for the highest proportion at 69.6%. The types of abuse were physical abuse (29.9%), economic exploitation (25.4%), and emotional abuse (24.6%) in that order.

Among the perpetrators, acquaintances accounted for the highest proportion at 20.1%, followed by social welfare facility workers (19.3%) and fathers (8.9%). However, when combining family members and relatives such as parents, spouses, siblings, and children, the proportion was 32.8%, the highest share. This is an increase of 6.0 percentage points from 26.8% the previous year. Abuse by others also increased to 41.7% from 36.8% the previous year. On the other hand, abuse by institution workers decreased by 9.1 percentage points to 24.9% compared to the previous year.

The most common location where abuse occurred was the victim's residence at 39.1%, followed by residential facilities for persons with disabilities at 14.9%.

In particular, labor exploitation, where work is forced without wage payment among economic exploitation cases, accounted for 8.8% of all abuse cases. The majority of victims were persons with intellectual disabilities, accounting for 59.1%. Abuse cases involving children with disabilities under 18 years old accounted for 13.2% of all abuse cases. Among these cases, parents were the main perpetrators in 48.9% of the cases.

Among the total 2,609 suspected reported cases, 35.2% were reported by mandatory reporters, while 64.8% were reported by non-mandatory reporters. Among reports by mandatory reporters, about half were made by social welfare facility workers. Among reports by non-mandatory reporters, workers at disability support agencies made the most reports. Self-reports also increased by 69.1% from 162 cases the previous year to 274 cases.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated regarding this status survey that "many laws and systems have been improved to strengthen the prevention of abuse against persons with disabilities and the protection of victims," including the establishment of employment restrictions and aggravated punishment regulations for offenders related to abuse of persons with disabilities, and mandatory education on reporting obligations for institutions to which mandatory reporters belong. They added, "We will continue to devote all efforts to protecting victims with disabilities."

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