13 Cases of Abuse Against Disabled Reported Daily... 17.8% Increase Compared to Previous Year

Among 2,461 Suspected Abuse Cases, 1,124 Confirmed Abuse Cases
"Increased Social Awareness of Disability Abuse Leads to Active Reporting"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The number of reported cases of abuse against people with disabilities increased by 17.8% last year to 4,957 cases compared to the previous year. This amounts to an average of 13.6 reports per day.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Central Disability Rights Advocacy Agency announced on the 28th that they have published the "2021 Disability Abuse Status Report," which contains this information.

The Central Disability Rights Advocacy Agency, established nationwide under the "Disability Welfare Act," is responsible for receiving reports of abuse against people with disabilities and supporting victims. It has been compiling statistics on disability abuse since 2019.

According to the report, the number of reported cases of disability abuse in 2021 was 4,957, a 17.8% increase from the previous year. Among these, suspected abuse cases accounted for 2,461 cases, or 49.6% of the reports, which is an 18.9% increase compared to the previous year.

Of the suspected abuse cases, 1,124 cases (45.7%) were confirmed as actual abuse, marking an 11.5% increase from the previous year. Non-abuse cases were 933 (37.9%), potential risk cases 307 (12.5%), and cases under investigation 97 (3.9%). Potential risk cases refer to those where the abuse investigation results were unclear or lacked sufficient evidence to definitively classify as abuse, but where there is a possibility of future abuse, requiring post-monitoring.

By type of disability of the victims, people with developmental disabilities accounted for 74.1%, making up the majority of cases. Intellectual disabilities accounted for 67.7%, autism spectrum disorder 4.1%, mental disabilities 4.4%, and physical disabilities 6.0%.

By type of abuse, physical abuse was the most common at 27.4%. This was followed by economic exploitation at 24.9%, and multiple types of abuse at 20.8%. Among economic exploitation cases, 10.1% (114 cases) involved labor exploitation where wages were not paid for work performed.

Regarding perpetrators, abuse by family members and relatives such as parents, spouses, and siblings accounted for the largest share at 36.2% (407 cases). This was followed by acquaintances at 20.9%, and social welfare facility workers at 19.2%.

The locations of abuse incidents were primarily the residence of the disabled victim at 41.1%, residential facilities for people with disabilities at 12.7%, and the residence of the abuser at 9.5%. Abuse occurring at the victim’s residence increased by 17.3% compared to the previous year.

A Ministry of Health and Welfare official explained, "The increase in confirmed abuse cases is analyzed to be due to heightened social interest in disability abuse, leading to more active reporting, and proactive investigations of abuse cases through the nationwide Disability Rights Advocacy Agencies."

Yeom Min-seop, Director of the Disability Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "We recognize the seriousness of the annual increase in disability abuse. Moving forward, we will work to expand disability abuse response agencies and shelters, as well as strengthen early detection and prevention of abuse, and improve protection and support systems for victims."

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