Yeongdeungpo-gu Prevents Blind Spots in Child Abuse Cases

Yeongdeungpo-gu Prevents Blind Spots in Child Abuse with WeClass Teachers

On June 30, ‘Child Abuse Response Information Coordination Council’ Meeting Held at the Annex of the District Office

22 Participants Including WeClass Teachers... Discussed Support for Victimized Children and On-site Response Methods

Creating an Environment Where Children Are Safely Protected through Proactive Child Abuse Prevention and Strengthened Inter-agency Cooperation

Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) held a ‘Child Abuse Response Information Coordination Council’ meeting with WeClass teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools on the 30th of last month at the large auditorium of the Yeongdeungpo-gu Office annex.

WeClass is a program that provides counseling and educational support to students facing various psychological and emotional issues. Counseling staff are assigned to 32 out of 44 elementary, middle, and high schools in the area.

The Child Abuse Response Information Coordination Council includes participants from Yeongdeungpo-gu Office, Yeongdeungpo Police Station, Seoul Southern Office of Education, and Seoul Yeongdeungpo Child Protection Agency. They meet monthly to discuss child abuse prevention, support for children in crisis, and inter-agency cooperation.

This meeting was attended by 15 WeClass teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools, 4 members of the Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Child Protection Team, 1 Abuse Prevention Officer (APO) from Yeongdeungpo Police Station, 1 representative from Seoul Yeongdeungpo Child Protection Agency, and 1 from the Seoul Southern Office of Education’s School Integrated Support Center, totaling 22 participants.

Attendees from each institution watched a child abuse prevention video and shared statistics and reported cases to facilitate early detection and protection of victimized children. They thoroughly discussed cooperation measures and improvements for each institution, including how to report suspected child abuse, protection for mandatory reporters, support for victimized children, and on-site response methods.

One WeClass teacher who attended the meeting said, “By focusing on child abuse cases and administrative and judicial procedures, this meeting provided an opportunity to enhance our expertise and strengthen our response capabilities as WeClass teachers.”

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “We will proactively prevent child abuse to ensure that tragic incidents do not occur and strengthen inter-agency cooperation. We will do our best to create an environment where children can be safely protected and grow.”