How Does Ms. A, a Young Woman Living Alone in Nowon-gu, Live Well?

Nowon-gu Promotes Project to Create Safe Homes for Single Young Women Households

‘Safe Home Set’ Support for Single Young Women Households Aged 19 to 39

Common components include smart doorbell, portable alarm, portable spray... Set A includes home CCTV, Set B includes door opening sensor and window lock... Applications accepted from April 17, first-come, first-served for 100 households... Submit via email to the person in charge or visit the district office

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will support crime prevention safety devices such as smart doorbells and home CCTV to create a safe living environment for single young women households.

According to the report “Safety Status and Policy Response Directions for Single Women Households” published by the Korean Women's Development Institute, the number of single women households increased by about 37%, from 2.61 million in 2015 to 3.58 million in 2021. In areas densely populated by single women households, crimes such as dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking were found to occur more frequently.

In particular, 44.6% of single young women households feel that their daily life is unsafe, and the most commonly perceived crime types they are exposed to are sexual harassment and sexual assault (45.9%), and burglary after home intrusion (24.7%). Young people tend to live in relatively inexpensive one-room or multi-family houses, where external access control systems or security devices are insufficient.

Accordingly, this year the district will select a total of 100 single young women households to support ‘Safe Home Sets’ to secure residential safety. Nowon-gu is home to seven universities including Seoul Women's University, with many one-room and multi-family houses around the campuses, and there have been many inquiries from female college students and young women about home set support, reflecting their opinions.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District

The components commonly include ▲ a ‘smart doorbell’ that allows checking for outsiders outside the front door via smartphone ▲ a ‘portable alarm’ linked to a smartphone that sounds an alarm and sends an emergency message ▲ a portable spray. If Set A is chosen, a ‘home CCTV’ is provided; if Set B is chosen, a ‘door opening sensor’ and ‘window lock’ are additionally provided.

Furthermore, considering that having an outsider enter the applicant’s residence to install equipment may cause anxiety for young women, once the project participants are selected, individual text notifications will be sent within two weeks and the equipment will be delivered by courier.

The project targets single young women households aged 19 to 39 residing in Nowon-gu, living in rental housing with a deposit of 200 million KRW or less. Apartment residents or homeowners are not eligible to apply.

Applications will be accepted from April 17 on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants should prepare ▲ one copy of the Safe Home Set application form ▲ one copy of resident registration certificate ▲ one copy of real estate lease contract, and submit via email to the person in charge or visit the Youth Policy Division at the district office.

The district has continuously promoted safety equipment support projects to prevent crimes such as home intrusion and stalking. In 2021, a ‘Women’s Safe Home Set’ consisting of home CCTV, portable emergency bells, and auxiliary door keys was provided to 90 single women households, and last year, home CCTV installation was supported for 34 households who were victims of stalking and other crimes.

Additionally, the self-defense app ‘Ansim-i’ is also in operation. It includes various functions such as ‘Safe Return Scout’ which accompanies users home, ‘Emergency Report’ for police rapid response, and ‘Safe Return Monitoring’ where the district office CCTV control center monitors the return route.

Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “I hope the Safe Home Set can alleviate some of the anxiety felt by single young women households,” and added, “We will continue to develop various safety policies so that everyone can feel their home is the most comfortable sanctuary.”

Gwanak-gu Signs Agreement to Support Psychological Counseling for Women Victims of Violence

On the 13th, a tripartite agreement signed between Gwanak-gu, Gwanak Police Station, and Hanul Family Counseling Center

Establishing a one-stop support system to create ‘Gwanak, a city safe from crime’

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) signed a business agreement on the 13th with Gwanak Police Station and Hanul Family Counseling Center to prevent violence against women and support victims, embarking on creating ‘Gwanak, a city safe from crime.’

Since 2019, the district has shared information related to crimes against women with Gwanak Police Station and has been working to enhance women’s safety through various projects such as short-term shelter support for emergency protection of victims, residential safety equipment support, and improvement of women’s safe return home paths.

This year, a tripartite agreement among ‘Gwanak-gu, Gwanak Police Station, and Hanul Family Counseling Center’ was signed to strengthen psychological counseling support for victims of increasingly diverse and rising crimes against women, including domestic and dating violence, stalking, and new types of digital sexual violence.

Park Jun-hee, the mayor of Gwanak District, signed an agreement with Gwanak Police Station and Hanul Family Counseling Center.

The main contents of the agreement include ▲ ‘Protection, support, and counseling support’ for women victims of violence ▲ ‘Information sharing for protection and support’ of women victims of violence ▲ ‘Awareness-raising activities’ for prevention of violence against women, with each institution actively sharing resources and infrastructure to establish a one-stop system.

Gwanak-gu provides administrative support such as budget for creating women’s safety infrastructure and victim protection and prevention; Gwanak Police Station (Chief Maeng Hoon-jae) provides emergency protection for women victims and connects them to the counseling center; Hanul Family Counseling Center (Director Ahn Hyun-sook) provides psychological counseling support for victims and their families.

The district expects that this agreement will enable close cooperation among the institutions to build a practical and comprehensive community safety net for the protection and support of women victims of violence.

Mayor Park Jun-hee of Gwanak-gu said, “We will do our best to strengthen the organic cooperation system among related organizations to further solidify the protection and support system for women victims of violence and create a safe and happy Gwanak-gu.”

Gangdong-gu, Nationwide First Support for Play Activity Assistant Teachers to Help Infants and Toddlers Adapt to Daycare

Supporting assistant teacher salaries at 25 daycare centers... Expecting a safe childcare environment

Applications accepted from April 17 to 20 (4 days), daycare centers apply and final selection made

Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Soo-hee) is piloting the ‘Infant and Toddler Adaptation Together Value Project’ to support play activity assistant teachers at daycare centers to help infants and toddlers who have difficulty adapting to daycare.

According to the ‘Post-COVID Infant and Toddler Development Status Survey Results (announced on December 13, 2022)’ conducted by Seoul City, one in three children who spent their infancy during the COVID-19 period have difficulties in age-appropriate development in language, behavior, cognition, and emotion, and require expert help.

Along with the increase in ‘infants and toddlers who need a little more care’ due to developmental difficulties, the difficulties faced by childcare sites and childcare teachers who actually care for infants and toddlers have also increased.

In fact, at meetings between daycare center directors and childcare teachers, many expressed concerns about increased workload for childcare teachers and potential neglect issues due to the rise in infants and toddlers experiencing developmental difficulties, even if not medically diagnosed.

Accordingly, the district is piloting the ‘Infant and Toddler Adaptation Together Value Project’ to assist developmentally delayed infants and toddlers and simultaneously improve childcare teacher treatment. Supporting daycare centers needing help due to the increase in ‘infants and toddlers who need a little more care’ is the first of its kind nationwide.

The project will accept applications from daycare centers for four days from April 17 to 20, and after a first document screening and second on-site evaluation by a selection committee, will provide assistant teacher salary support to 25 selected daycare centers.

Selected daycare centers will receive salary support for one assistant teacher for three hours per day from July to December 2023, and high satisfaction from daycare centers is expected.

Additionally, since March this year, the district has been implementing the ‘Gangdong-type Teacher-to-Child Ratio Improvement Project’ to reduce childcare teachers’ workload and lead the creation of a safe childcare environment.

Seo Jeom-ok, Head of the Childcare Support Division, said, “We hope the implementation of the Infant and Toddler Adaptation Together Value Project will help alleviate childcare teachers’ difficulties even a little,” adding, “Through this, more detailed support will be provided to infants and toddlers who need care, and it will become a childcare environment that parents can trust, creating a virtuous cycle.”

For more details, please contact Gangdong Children's Center or refer to the notices on the Gangdong Children's Center website. Daycare centers wishing to participate should prepare and send the application form via email to the person in charge at Gangdong Children's Center.

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