[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Jo Doo-pal, a famous YouTuber with 420,000 subscribers, has come forward on his SNS to reveal that he has been a victim of dating violence. Netizens who learned of the news expressed concern for Jo, asking, "What happened? Are you okay?"
On the 6th, Jo posted on his Instagram, "Although it was a short time, I was very grateful to have someone who loved and liked me, and I had hopes because this person was different from before." He continued, "I even planned a future to the extent of considering marriage and lived together, but that relationship was the worst in my life," disclosing the abuse he suffered.
He added, "That person was everything to me, so precious that I couldn't be without him. But as time passed, distrust grew, and actions that broke trust kept repeating," and confessed, "I was very exhausted by the shocking things that came out the more I dug into the lies."
Jo revealed, "Every time these things happened, we fought several times, and the more we fought, the worse his habit of using his hands became, eventually leading to the worst situation," and admitted, "Whenever I talked about breaking up, he would become violent toward me."
After the post sparked controversy online, Jo soon deleted it. Since revealing his first love boyfriend, who is three years older, last October, all photos of the boyfriend previously shared on SNS have also recently been removed.
In response to the sudden news, netizens expressed concern, saying, "All the boyfriend's photos have been taken down, and earlier he posted something that suggested dating violence, so I'm very worried. I hope he wasn't seriously hurt," and "What happened? Is he okay?"
Such dating violence has become a serious social issue in our society. Recently, there have been ongoing appeals from women saying, "I was mercilessly beaten when I said I wanted to break up," and "Please tell me how to break up safely."
As more people seek "safe breakups," YouTubers sharing safe breakup methods have also emerged. [Image source = Internet capture]
Women are so fearful of breakups that the new term "safe breakup" has emerged. In fact, dating violence most often occurs when a breakup is announced.
According to the "2019 Anger Gauge Statistical Analysis" released by Korea Women's Hotline, there were 229 victims of murder or attempted murder by men in close relationships such as husbands or boyfriends in just one year. The number of women killed reached at least 88.
Among perpetrators, 3 out of 10 answered that they committed the crime because "the partner requested a divorce or breakup, or refused their demands for reconciliation or meeting."
This is why posts sharing "safe breakup methods" are easily found, and why urgent measures are called for to support women appealing against dating violence.
Experts point out the lack of legal protections to prevent this. Jeong Hye-won, head of the Women's Policy Research Team at the Gyeonggi Family and Women Research Institute, emphasized, "Active policies against dating violence are necessary. Improving gender sensitivity and the culture that tolerates violence must become a daily practice to prevent and stop dating violence."
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