Won Minkyoung: "Types of Gender-Based Violence Diversifying... Policy Gaps Will Be Addressed"

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Holds 2nd "Gender Equality Unboxing Talk"

Second of Four Scheduled Events for This Year, Following April's Session

Hearing Youth Proposals On-Site and Preparing Improvements

The government has held its second on-site policy proposal session of the year to analyze the patterns and characteristics of gender-based violence and to gather policy suggestions needed to address them.

On July 12, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that it had hosted the “2nd Gender Balance Field Proposal, Gender Equality Unboxing Talk” on the afternoon of July 10 at the Seongsu Starting Point of Heyground in Seongdong-gu, Seoul.

Won Minkyoung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, attended the "2nd Gender Balance On-site Proposal, Gender Equality Unboxing Talk" held at Heyground in Seongdong, Seoul on the afternoon of the 10th, where she engaged in an in-depth conversation with young people on the topic of "Opening the Box of Changing Gender Violence."

This event was the second of four on-site policy proposal sessions scheduled for this year. It was designed to encourage young people to discuss and resolve the prejudices and differences they experience or perceive regarding gender, and to connect these discussions to policy agendas. The first event, held in April, took place at Community House Masil in Jung-gu, Seoul, under the theme “Opening the Box of Youth's Body and Mind, and Gender,” and was attended by around 50 young people.

The theme of this second Gender Balance Field Proposal was “Opening the Box of Changing Gender Violence.”

Recently, gender-based violence has become more diverse in its forms, reflecting societal changes. The patterns of harm and the demand for support can differ depending on gender. For example, among those receiving support for digital sex crimes, men accounted for 24.6%, indicating that certain types of victims are becoming more diverse.

In particular, at the interim report meeting of the “Youth Coexistence and Empathy Committee” held on July 4, policies were proposed to address the need to consider the diversity of gender-based violence victims and to improve gaps in victim protection.

During this unboxing talk, field experts who directly support victims shared their experiences from counseling and support processes, and, together with young people, discussed policy directions to reduce gaps in victim protection.

The event consisted of two parts: presentations by experts and field workers, and policy proposals and discussions by participating young people.

Part 1, under the theme “Daily Life and Relationships,” examined the gender-specific characteristics and underlying gender norms that appear in the patterns and responses to gender-based violence. The discussion also covered the characteristics of gender-based violence in various relationships, including intimate and hierarchical ones. Part 2, under the theme “Digital Spaces and Future Generations,” focused on the current status of support for digital sex crimes and shared on-site cases, examining gender-specific victim characteristics and support needs. It also addressed the status and challenges of sex culture and sex education for children and adolescents. After each part, young participants proposed policies for responding to gender-based violence and protecting victims based on the presentations and discussions.

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Won Minkyoung stated, “With technological advances and social change, the types of gender-based violence are diversifying, and the range of affected individuals and the complexity of harm are increasing. While we will further strengthen prevention and protection against violence against women arising from structural vulnerabilities in our society, we will also closely examine the evolving characteristics of victims and support needs, and continuously work to address policy blind spots.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.