Government to Conduct Comprehensive Review of Youth Shelter Installation Standards... Discusses Measures Following Our Report

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family "Considering Convenience and Surroundings to Support Out-of-Home Youth"
Experts "Safe and Diverse Shelters Needed... Awareness Improvement Also Necessary"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

As several issues have been raised, including youth shelters being located near entertainment districts, the government has decided to comprehensively review the related standards. However, experts emphasize that not only should the standards be reviewed, but safer and more diverse shelters should be created, along with efforts to improve public awareness.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) recently released a statement regarding the Asia Economy’s five-part series "Lost Youth," which began on the 12th. In the statement, MOGEF said, "To strengthen support for out-of-home youth, we will consider convenience of use and the surrounding environment," adding, "We will comprehensively review the installation standards for youth shelters so that out-of-home youth can live in safer spaces."

However, they added, "According to operational guidelines, shelters are to be avoided in areas densely populated with youth-harmful businesses, but temporary shelters are to be installed in major urban centers with high concentrations of youth."

Experts pointed out that the related standards should be revised as soon as possible to relocate youth shelters to safer places. Professor Jeong Ik-jung of Ewha Womans University’s Department of Social Welfare said, "There are plenty of places in downtown Seoul where youth gather that are not entertainment districts," and added, "There are already sufficient standards, such as the Youth Protection Act, to protect youth. But instead of protecting out-of-home youth who are in the most dangerous situations, they have been pushed to the edge."

According to the Youth Protection Act, no one should allow youth to be exposed to harmful environments or permit their entry. This responsibility is also assigned to the state and local governments.

Experts advised that beyond revising harmful environment-related standards, diversity issues must also be addressed. Out-of-home youth face various situations and should not be gathered in one place simply because they have run away from home. For example, out-of-home youth who have encountered sex trafficking suffer incomparable physical and mental harm, making it difficult for them to mix with other youth. Their options for places to go are significantly limited. Currently, among shelters located in Seoul, only six are exclusively for females, with a total capacity of just 77 people. Furthermore, private women’s organizations primarily assist adult female sex workers, leaving minor sex trafficking victims in a blind spot.

Professor Chu Ju-hee, an HK research professor at Chonnam National University’s Institute of Humanities, stated, "The situation is even more severe in rural areas. There are already few youth shelters, and not even one out of three has a place secured for minor victims of sex trafficking," emphasizing, "If sex trafficking victim youth live together with other youth, secondary problems arise, so they must be separated."

Above all, there are calls for the government to be proactive in improving societal awareness of out-of-home youth. MOGEF explained, "The reason youth shelter signs are not installed is to prevent secondary harm, such as complaints from residents or perpetrators of domestic violence victims visiting the shelters," but improving these limitations is also the responsibility of the state and society. Lee Byung-mo, policy director of the Korea Shelter Association, said, "Korean society still does not embrace out-of-home youth," adding, "It will only be possible if the government, private sector, and all members of society come together."