The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has identified strengthening the response to stalking and dating violence as a key future task. The ministry plans to make its cooperation framework with related agencies a regular practice and to build a "femicide" statistics system, which has been absent until now.
Won Min-kyung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, held a briefing at the Government Complex Seoul on Wednesday marking the first anniversary of the Lee Jae-myung administration. "Regarding the rising number of stalking crimes, we are preparing measures to strengthen preemptive response and victim protection together with the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, and the Korean National Police Agency," she said.
The ministry also plans to expand cooperation with the police agency. "Until now, working-level staff would gather to discuss issues whenever an incident occurred. Going forward, we will make the consultative body a regular fixture to respond more closely," Won explained.
To prepare effective gender violence measures, the ministry will also establish a separate statistics system. Currently, only statistics on the gender of victims exist, with no official national statistics that classify and tally femicide based on the relationship between victim and perpetrator or the motive for the crime. In addition, the ministry plans to distribute a "guide on high-risk signs of stalking and dating violence" so that victims can recognize danger signals early and receive necessary protection and support.
She also said the ministry would expand dedicated gender equality units to all government departments. "All major ministries have submitted requests indicating the need for a gender equality policy officer within each ministry," she said. "Since we are in discussions with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Planning and Budget, I cannot say what form it will take."
Regarding plans to expand the public sanitary pad and support pilot project, Won predicted that it "could contribute to stabilizing the price and improving the quality of sanitary pads on the market." She said, "This project complements the blind spots of the support program providing sanitary product vouchers for female youth and improves accessibility (to sanitary products). We will develop this theme to address both the cost burden of sanitary pads and the accessibility problem."
Asked whether there had been any achievements over the past year that would prove the necessity of the gender equality ministry, she replied, "When the abolition of the former Ministry of Gender Equality and Family became an issue, I could not agree when I considered whether our society had truly become a gender-equal one." She added, "That is the reason the gender equality ministry must exist."
Meanwhile, she explained that the government's announcement of its position on lowering the age of criminal minors (juveniles below the age of criminal responsibility) has been somewhat delayed. "It is being delayed because there are many agenda items in the Cabinet meeting reporting process," Won said. "Since the issue of criminal minors is a matter for families and local communities, we will create a network in which all related agencies take responsibility and deliberate."
