One in Four Disabled Abuse Victims in Their 20s... Increase in Abuse Cases Under 17 Years Old

1,418 Cases of Abuse Confirmed in 2023
Most Victims in Their 20s... Followed by Those 17 and Under, 30s, and 40s

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Amid recurring issues of abuse against people with disabilities, it was found that individuals in their 20s are the most frequent victims.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Central Disability Rights Advocacy Agency on the 18th, out of 2,969 suspected cases of abuse reported in 2023, 1,418 cases were confirmed as actual abuse.

Under the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, abuse includes physical, mental, emotional, verbal, and sexual violence or harsh treatment against people with disabilities, economic exploitation, abandonment, and neglect.

Looking at abuse victims by age in 2023, those in their 20s accounted for about one-quarter with 343 cases. This was followed by those aged 17 and under (263 cases), people in their 30s (228 cases), and those in their 40s (201 cases). By gender, 54.3% (770 cases) were female and 45.7% (648 cases) were male.

The younger the person with a disability, the more abuse they generally suffered. Notably, the number of victims aged 17 and under in 2023 increased by 5.6% to 263 cases compared to 249 cases the previous year.

Breaking down the types of perpetrators, abuse by acquaintances was the most common at 20.9% (297 cases). This was followed by abuse by social welfare facility workers (234 cases) and abuse by fathers (143 cases).

The duration of ongoing abuse was most frequently less than 3 months at 45.1% (640 cases). This was followed by 1 to less than 3 years at 15.7% (222 cases) and 3 to less than 6 months at 10.6% (151 cases).

Regarding the type of disability of the victims, those with mental disabilities (intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, mental illness) numbered about 4.7 times more at 1,111 cases compared to 235 cases of victims with physical disabilities. Specifically, intellectual disability accounted for the largest share at 67.3% (955 cases), followed by autism spectrum disorder at 6.6% (93 cases), and physical disabilities at 5.9% (84 cases).

The government announced that, as abuse incidents have recently occurred in some regional residential facilities for people with disabilities, a full survey on human rights conditions will be conducted by the end of this month at 109 large-scale residential facilities housing 50 or more users. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will inspect facility status, staff and user conditions, human rights education achievements, the formation and operation of human rights protection teams, and the human rights situation of users and staff.