Reports of Abuse of People with Disabilities Hit 6,608 Last Year... "Self-Reports" by People with Intellectual Disabilities Surge 53%

People with developmental disabilities accounted for 76% of the 1,505 confirmed abuse cases
Acquaintances were the most common perpetrators, followed by parents
Maximum fine for violating mandatory reporting duties to rise to 10 million won

Last year, the number of suspected abuse cases involving people with disabilities in which victims reported the abuse themselves surged by more than 30% year over year nationwide.

Suspected abuse cases and general cases among all reports received by disability rights advocacy agencies. Ministry of Health and Welfare.

According to the 2025 Report on the Status of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities, published on October 30 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Central Disability Rights Advocacy Agency, the 20 disability rights advocacy agencies nationwide received 6,608 reports last year, up 9.6% from the previous year. Of these, 3,375 cases were investigated because abuse was suspected, an increase of 11.3%. The most notable change was that people with disabilities who reported abuse themselves accounted for 806 cases, a 31.7% surge year over year. In particular, reports made by people with intellectual disabilities themselves, despite the view that intervention by others was essential because of communication barriers, jumped 53.1% to 493. In addition, non-mandatory reporters filed 2,480 reports, about 2.8 times the 895 filed by mandatory reporters, suggesting that the community-based network of monitoring by victims and their neighbors is becoming increasingly robust.

Victims continued to come forward courageously, and a total of 1,505 cases were ultimately confirmed as abuse. Yet the threat of abuse still lurked in the places closest to them in their everyday lives. People with developmental disabilities, including intellectual and autistic disabilities, accounted for 76.2% of all victims in confirmed abuse cases, showing a clear concentration of crime among people with certain types of disabilities. Among perpetrators, acquaintances were the largest group at 21.4%, followed by parents at 19.5% and employees of social welfare facilities at 13.5%. A total of 47.6% of all abuse cases occurred in victims' homes, where they should have been safest. Abuse also occurred in disability welfare facilities, which are intended to provide a protected environment, accounting for 12.8% of cases.

The cycle of repeat abuse, in which harm does not end with a single incident, was also identified as a serious problem. Of all abuse cases, 238, or 15.8%, were found to involve repeat abuse. The statistic that 88.2% of victims in these repeat-abuse cases had developmental disabilities underscores the urgent need for ongoing follow-up support after an initial separation from the perpetrator.

The government plans to significantly strengthen institutional safeguards against abuse of people with disabilities. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has amended the Act on the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities to raise the maximum fine for mandatory reporters who, in the course of their duties, become aware of abuse or a sex crime against a person with a disability but fail to report it, from 3 million won to 10 million won. The revised law is due to take effect in February next year. Cha Jeonkyung, Director-General for Disability Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "Early detection and reporting are important in cases of abuse of people with disabilities, and sustained support is needed after abuse to help victims recover and prevent repeat abuse." Cha added, "We will continue to improve the system to strengthen the response capacity of those working in the field and ensure that victims with disabilities receive effective protection."

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