Suspected Cases of Abuse Against Disabled Persons Increase by 35.5% Over 4 Years

Suspected cases of abuse against people with disabilities have increased by 35.5% over the past four years.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 9th that it has published the "2022 Status Report on Abuse of People with Disabilities." The Ministry, together with the Disability Rights Advocacy Agencies, has been compiling annual statistics on abuse of people with disabilities since 2019 to use as basic data for policy development aimed at preventing abuse and supporting victims.

Last year, the total number of reports received by the Disability Rights Advocacy Agencies was 4,958. Among these, suspected cases of abuse against people with disabilities numbered 2,641, a 7.3% increase compared to the previous year. The total number of reports last year rose by 35.5% compared to 2018 (3,658 cases), with suspected abuse cases in particular surging 43.9% during the same period (from 1,835 to 2,641 cases). As awareness of their rights improved among people with disabilities themselves, the rate of self-reporting increased significantly from 10.6% (194 cases) in 2018 to 16.5% (435 cases) last year.

Suspected cases of abuse against people with disabilities are categorized into confirmed abuse cases, potential risk cases where harm is unclear and cannot be judged as abuse, and non-abuse cases. According to this survey, the number of cases finally confirmed as abuse last year was 1,186. This is a 5.5% increase compared to the previous year (1,124 cases). However, the Ministry explained that potential risk cases requiring follow-up monitoring due to the possibility of future abuse decreased by 21.8% from 307 cases last year to 230 cases.

Regarding the gender of the victims, females accounted for 51.5% (611 people) and males 48.5% (575 people), showing a similar distribution. By age group, those in their 20s made up 25.9% (307 people), those aged 17 and under 21% (249 people), those in their 30s 16.3% (193 people), and those in their 40s 13.4% (159 people).

By type of disability of the victims, intellectual disabilities accounted for the majority at 67.9% (805 cases), followed by brain lesion disabilities at 7% (83 cases), autism spectrum disorder at 6.5% (77 cases), and physical disabilities at 5.1% (61 cases). The perpetrators of abuse were primarily family members and relatives of the people with disabilities (36.4%, 432 cases) and staff of social welfare facilities and related organizations (36.1%, 429 cases), together accounting for more than 70% of cases.

Based on the results of this status analysis, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to prepare a "Strengthened Response System for Abuse of People with Disabilities and Comprehensive Support Measures for Abuse Victims" in accordance with the annual implementation plan under the 6th Comprehensive Plan for Disability Policy.

Additionally, to respond promptly to reports and investigations of abuse victims with disabilities, the Ministry will continue to expand the Disability Rights Advocacy Agencies and increase staffing. In March, the Ministry added one Disability Rights Advocacy Agency in Chungbuk, and from July, an additional counselor was assigned to each of the 19 regional Disability Rights Advocacy Agencies, continuously strengthening the response infrastructure for abuse of people with disabilities. Furthermore, to ensure the safe protection of abused children with disabilities, the six existing shelters operating in Seoul, Busan, and Gyeonggi will be supplemented by four additional shelters in Incheon and Ulsan next year.

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