[The Police File]No Victims? ... The Trauma Remains

Recently, there have been a series of attempted child luring incidents targeting elementary school students across the country. In places such as Incheon, Daejeon, and Gyeonggi Province, there have been repeated reports of unknown men trying to lead children into alleys and failing, or attempting to deceive children by saying, "Your mother is waiting," only to be stopped by nearby citizens who reported the incident. Although there was no actual physical harm, there are growing concerns that the emotional well-being of the affected children is being overlooked.

In reality, many children who have experienced attempted luring suffer from severe anxiety symptoms, refuse to go out alone, or are plagued by nightmares. According to child and adolescent mental health experts, even an attempted crime is stored as a "traumatic memory" for children and can lead to long-term trauma into adulthood. The younger the child, the less psychological defense they have against threatening stimuli, so even a single threatening experience can leave deeper scars than physical harm.

The problem is that, despite the severity of such psychological harm, there are very few institutional protections in place. Children who are victims of attempted crimes are often not legally recognized as "victims," making it difficult for them to receive psychiatric treatment or counseling support. The number of professional counselors in elementary schools is also limited, and most schools do not have connections with external mental health institutions, effectively leaving crisis response up to the parents.

Legal shortcomings are also an issue. While "luring" is clearly defined as a child abuse crime under the Child Welfare Act, it is difficult to prove at the attempted stage. If the perpetrator claims it was "just a joke" or says they "only wanted to ask for directions," it becomes hard to impose punishment. As a result, some parents express frustration, asking, "Do we have to wait for the crime to be completed before we can protect our children?"

It is time to change the perception that "no harm done" is a reason for reassurance. An attempted child luring is not a "failed crime," but a "crime that has already begun." Society must treat the fear experienced by children as an "incident" and provide systematic psychological recovery support to ensure those memories do not remain as deep scars.

First, there must be a legal basis to officially recognize and support psychological victims even in cases of attempted crimes against children. Even in cases of attempted crime, if a certain level of fear or threat is acknowledged, it should be institutionalized so that affected children receive treatment, counseling, and protection services.

Second, a psychological emergency response system must be established, centered around elementary schools. Schools should be able to connect parents and children with professional counseling immediately after an incident, and, if necessary, cooperate with local governments or public health centers to provide treatment support.

Third, not only post-incident management but also preventive education must be made effective. Current child safety education is mostly formal, making it difficult for children to internalize how to react in real-life situations. More concrete scenario-based response training, emotional awareness education, and experiential education programs are needed.

The phrase "there were no victims" may simply reflect an adult perspective. The crime may have failed, but for the child, the fear became a reality. The helplessness and fear felt at that moment likely still linger in their hearts. Now is the time to focus on the "wounds that have begun" rather than the "crime that was not carried out." Only then will our society truly have the right to speak about the safety of children.

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