Geumcheon-gu Strengthens Efforts to Prevent Domestic Violence and Child Abuse

Support for Victim Short-Term Accommodation, Operation of 'Visiting Violence Prevention Education'... Operation of 'Sonamu Center,' the First Domestic Violence Support Facility with Resident Abuse Prevention Police Officer (APO) in Autonomous District... Establishment and Operation of a 24-Hour Public Child Abuse Response System with On-Site Dispatch Capability

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) is making every effort from multiple angles to prevent violence victims such as domestic violence and child abuse and to prevent recurrence.

The district is fully committed, together with related organizations, to supporting domestic violence victims through short-term accommodation support, operation of the Sonamu Center, treatment programs, and violence prevention education.

Starting this year, the district has established and is operating a cooperative system with the Geumcheon Police Station to support victims of domestic violence, stalking, and dating violence. The Geumcheon Police Station connects victims of violence to temporary accommodations where they can stay until a court issues a restraining order against the perpetrator. The district plans to support the related budget.

As the first autonomous district to discover families at risk of domestic violence, the district operates the “Sonamu Center,” which integrates the social welfare delivery system of integrated case management with the police crime prevention system. The center is staffed with integrated case managers, Abuse Prevention Officers (APO), and counselors. It provides a one-stop service from initial counseling to social welfare services and continuous follow-up management for families in crisis reported to 112. Over the past three years, it has handled 3,088 cases of counseling and linkage to specialized institutions, 110 cases of integrated case management intervention, and managed 2,481 families at risk of recurrence, providing support to families in domestic violence crises.

Since 2017, the district has conducted outreach violence prevention education targeting elementary, middle, and high school students as well as adults in the community. Schools and institutions wishing to receive violence prevention education are supported with professional instructors registered with the Korea Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education. In 2023, over 3,200 people received education.

Additionally, the Bethel Sexual and Family Counseling Center, an integrated counseling center for domestic and sexual violence, has been operating a treatment and recovery program for domestic violence victims since 2021. The program helps improve victims’ self-esteem, enabling them to recognize themselves healthily and build healthy interpersonal relationships. Individual counseling, group counseling, and mind-body recovery camps are conducted.

The district is promoting measures to respond to child abuse, including deploying a 24-hour child abuse dedicated officer, separating temporary protection facilities, supporting victim recovery, and conducting awareness-raising activities for child abuse prevention.

Since October 2020, the district has established and operated a public child abuse response system. Dedicated child abuse public officials who can respond on-site 24 hours a day are assigned to promptly investigate child abuse, assess abuse cases, and carry out protective measures.

For the protection of abused children, emergency measures such as immediate separation to temporary protection facilities are taken when necessary. Designated and operated child abuse specialized medical institutions provide rapid medical services and support evidence collection. Families judged to be abuse cases are linked to child protection agencies for case management and support recovery for the abused children and their families. Education for reported persons (abusers) is conducted to prevent re-abuse.

The district has formed and operates an information-sharing council with related public, private, and police organizations to strengthen the child abuse response system, including joint inspections of high-risk abused children. Furthermore, various prevention activities are being carried out to prevent child abuse and raise awareness, such as campaigns in front of elementary schools, child abuse prevention education for mandatory reporters and residents, and intensive promotion during Child Abuse Prevention Week.

Yu Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “We will do our best to check and improve any shortcomings in preventing domestic violence and child abuse,” and added, “We hope that residents will also actively report and participate in domestic violence prevention through neighborly concern.”