"Sexual Harassment During Bathing Assistance... Elderly Patients Who Scratch and Pinch" [Shadows of Care Work]

①Caregivers Suffer Human Rights Violations
No Significant Action Taken Despite Reports of Assault
ID Card-Type Voice Recorders to Be Issued

Kim (53), a care worker with 5 years of experience, was struck in the chest by a dementia patient in their 70s last month while helping the elderly person lie down on a bed. The shock spread to Kim's right arm, causing paralysis symptoms, and Kim was diagnosed with a four-week recovery period at the hospital. Although Kim reported the assault to the management, the facility only provided a small amount of medical expenses. Kim said, "The moment when the hand came toward me keeps replaying in my mind," and added, "I have been losing sleep due to psychological shock."

This image is unrelated to the main content. [Photo by Getty Images Bank]

As the number of elderly people recognized for long-term care benefits exceeded one million for the first time last year, care workers have become essential personnel in society. However, many care workers are exposed to human rights violations such as assault and harassment due to a lack of social awareness about care labor.

According to a survey conducted last year by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Public Transport Workers' Union targeting 526 care workers, 47% reported experiencing verbal abuse and physical assault from service users. Additionally, 34.1% responded that when conflicts arose with patients, the facility either told care workers to endure it or took no action.

Isolation Measures and Two-Person Team Rules... Not Followed in the Field

Care workers complained that even when they reported being assaulted by patients to the facility, they did not receive adequate protection measures. The Ministry of Health and Welfare created the 'Elderly Customized Care Service Safety Management Manual' in 2021, which includes guidelines to immediately isolate care workers when assault situations occur. However, care workers testify that these guidelines are not properly followed in practice.

Holding a placard urging measures to protect workers in elderly care services.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

Kang (58), who works at an elderly care facility in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, said, "Female elderly patients often scratch and pinch care workers, and male elderly patients frequently sexually harass them by touching sensitive body parts during bathing assistance." However, Kang added, "Due to profit concerns, the facility often tells care workers to endure minor assaults like scratching or pinching. Despite numerous assault incidents, only one elderly person has been forcibly removed in the past 10 years."

The manual recommending that home care workers visit high-risk patients with a history of assault in pairs is also not effectively enforced. The current Long-Term Care Insurance Act only mandates two-person teams for home bathing services. The Ministry of Health and Welfare's manual is merely a guideline without legal force, and private care facilities dispatch only one home care worker to high-risk patients, citing financial reasons.

Lee (62), who has been working as a home care worker in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province for five years, said, "From the facility's perspective, each elderly person directly relates to revenue, so when care workers report violent elderly patients, the facility just shuffles staff around without adding personnel." Lee added, "There are no established criteria for selecting high-risk elderly patients, nor is there a payment system for two-person teams."

Most home care workers are employed as part-time irregular workers, and some hide incidents of abuse for fear of losing work. If the facility suspends services to prevent further harm, care workers bear the economic loss. Lee said, "We only get paid if our visit to the elderly person's home is recognized, so if the facility stops the service, our income disappears. Since we cannot receive unemployment benefits when the service is cut off, we endure minor verbal abuse or assault."

This Year, 'Name Tag Recorders' to Be Provided... "Effective Measures Needed"

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to provide recording devices in the form of ID badges starting this year to prevent such harm, but the care industry criticizes this as an ineffective follow-up measure. Jeon Ji-hyun, chairperson of the National Care Service Labor Union, said, "Providing recorders is a belated measure that can only be taken after verbal abuse or assault has already occurred," emphasizing, "Creating a work environment where human rights violations cannot happen should be the priority."

Experts stress the need to strengthen responses, such as implementing two-person teams only for high-risk patients and considering revoking long-term care benefit eligibility for patients with repeated assault histories. Seok Jae-eun, a professor in the Department of Social Welfare at Hallym University, said, "Facilities need to prepare data on high-risk patients and dispatch care workers in two-person teams for them," adding, "For elderly individuals who repeatedly cause harm, revoking benefit eligibility could be considered as a last resort."

Editor's NoteSouth Korean society stands on the threshold of a super-aged era. Along with the rapidly increasing elderly population, care workers have long become essential personnel in society. However, as their roles expand in social welfare settings, conflicts have also increased. Care workers and elderly people in need of care are caught in a vicious cycle of infringing on each other's human rights. Care workers suffer verbal abuse and harassment from elderly individuals in facilities or homes, and there are also many cases of elderly people complaining of assault by care workers. This series of three articles explores the hidden aspects of elderly care and the challenges that need to be addressed.