KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

The purpose of this study is to identify the policies and overall status of the currently ongoing violence prevention education in Korea. This study takes place at a time when such education is being made mandatory in the nation. Consequently, the study has investigated the current violence prevention system and has examined issues and areas of improvement for the system.

For the investigation, various scholastic journals and publications, both in Korea and abroad, that focus on prevention education for violence against women have been examined in detail. Additionally, through an international comparison analysis, the study has analyzed the present condition of violence in the Korean society along with public awareness of safety. Moreover, an analysis of education effectiveness for receivers of mandatory violence prevention education was conducted. Then, Focus Group Interviews (FGI) and in-depth interviews were administered to those in charge of the education. With the analysis and interviews, the study looked into issues facing the currently on-going violence prevention education and also searched for improvement measures. Furthermore, the study held two advisory meetings with the researchers who have researched on the violence prevention system. In those meetings, the following were discussed: 1) overall process of violence prevention education, 2) issues and improvement measures for nurturing of educators on violence prevention, and 3) facilitation of violence prevention education in areas outside the metroplex.

The study results are as follows. First, the 2005-2006 World Value Survey was used to compare the violence tolerance of Korea with that of other nations. Korea ranked 23rd and showed to have a relatively high tolerance rate of violence. Gender-wise, Korean males ranked 23rd while their counterparts took 20th place concerning violence tolerance. Thus, the study discovered that there is a difference in awareness between the genders when it comes the issue of domestic violence in the Korean society.

Looking at the policies for violence prevention education in Korea, prevention education for sexual harrassment was mandated for public institutions in 1999. Then, prevention education was broadened in its scope to include prostitution prevention in 2008, sexual violence prevention in 2013, and domestic violence prevention in 2014. Currently, the major direction that the policies for violence prevention education is taking is the emphasis for quality control enhancement. Additionally, The Institute of Support for Sexual Violence Prevention Education has now been stipulated by law as the institute that supports sexual violence prevention education. Consequently the legal basis has now been provided to actively develop policies for sexual violence prevention education.

Violence prevention education includes the following: sexual harrassment preventive measures, prostitution prevention education, sexual violence prevention education, domestic violence prevention education, and gender-sensitivity education. Currently, a total of 2,167 professional instructors are actively engaged in six areas of violence prevention education. The direction that policies for prevention education is now taking is to make the transition from an autonomous, private-sector model to a model that complies with national standards. The government is working towards developing and distributing educational programs that are customized by life-cycles and for those receiving the education.

The breakdown of violence prevention education in Korea is as follows. In 2012, sexual harrassment prevention education was done for 16,000 institutions; education for prostitution prevention was administered to 32,000 institutions in the same year. In 2013, sexual violence prevention education was added for 68,000 institutions; that brought the total number of institutions receiving prevention education to 100,000. Starting in 2014, education on domestic violence began along with an integrated prevention education. Consequently, the number of institutions receiving education increased to 116,000. The local governments that have established their own prevention education plans are seven in number and include Gangwon, Busan, Incheon, Choongnam, Jeju, Ulsan, and Daegu. Currently, numerous programs for prevention of violence against women are being held in 17 cities around the nation. Eight local governments have developed education programs. In between the eight governments, a total of 29 instructor-training programs has been conducted.

The contents of violence prevention education for children can be categorized into two areas: contents for school-age children and contents for younger children (prior to entering school). For younger children, education includes the concept of sexual violence, types, case studies, and preventive measures. Education for school age children includes the definition, types, and content of sexual violence against children along with preventive measures and how to report cases of sexual violence. For juveniles, violence prevention education includes all the prior-mentioned contents and general sex education. Additionally, education does not merely stop at theoretical teaching. The participants are guided into mock situations and perform role plays to better grasp what to do when faced with potential cases of sexual violence. Violence prevention education for adults are provided largely for two different groups of people: general adults and adults who act as guardians of children and juveniles.

Violence prevention education have the following issues. First, the education receivers cannot recognize the differences in the education provided. Second, children and juveniles who do not attend kindergarten or school have absolute no route of receiving education. Third, the existing violence prevention education has the potential to make its receivers view all people as either victims or assailants. Fourth, though various sub-groups exist in the adult population, the current education is limited in its approach.

Feedback from violence prevention education was gotten by obtaining written documents such as surveys or reports. Surveys focused on satisfactory levels while reports were opinions filed by those who had received the prevention education. Additionally, subjective assessments were also conducted for the education. The responses of both the instructors and instructed were assessed.

Furthermore, those who were responsible for administrating violence prevention education at given institutions were investigated. They were investigated in terms of contents assessment, changes in perception after education, and education management system assessment. The investigations revealed that institutions had considerable difficulty in securing education time and qualified instructors. Additionally, a very high grade was given overall concerning the instructor staying true to the education contents at hand. Moreover, the overall satisfactory level of the integrated management system for violence prevention education was examined. Results showed that there is need to increase satisfaction levels by improving the system to be more user-friendly and conducting training sessions for system use.

Finally, policy suggestions from this study for violence prevention education are as follows. First, the contents of education needs to be diversified as more and more groups are being included to receive mandatory education. In other words, one needs to consider that as many adults as possible need to educated to increase the impact of violence prevention. Thus, measures need to devised by which diverse groups of people can be included in the education. Additionally, since prevention education is conducted continuously throughout the year, the contents of education need to be such so that those educated receive updated information annually. Then, education impacts can be increased sequentially. Standard lectures need to be set in place so that lectures can be unified in content and quality. At the same time, a measure must be sought that also secures the discretionary authority of the instructor. Second, prevention education requires a systematic management. Specifically, the role of a central institution in charge of prevention education should be stipulated by law. With the institution in place, the system for policy development will be stabilized. There is also need to continuously expand personnel and budget exclusively for prevention education. Additionally, the cooperation between local support institutions and local autonomous entities needs to be strengthened. Lastly, together with stabilizing the policy development system, cooperation with the private sector needs also to be strengthened regarding the overall span of policy development. Additionally, so that education may increase in quantity and improve in quality, there is need for stronger quality control so that education contents may continuously be improved. Moreover, special education should be conducted for managers and the names of institutions that conduct prevention education should be made known to the general public. With those two measures, institutions can be checked and managed on a regular basis. Education should be broadened in scope to include forms of violence other than sexual harassment. Finally, a governance system needs to be set up for prevention education. Within the central government, its various departments related to women, family, and children need to cooperate with one another. Departments within local autonomous entities also need to cooperate. In other words, cooperation between the different departments will lead to budget cuts and can also prevent overlaps in services provided. In addition, for effective development of prevention education, finding of new education recipients, and effective management, the cooperative system between local support institutes and local autonomous entities need to be strengthened. Together with strengthening the cooperation, the private sector needs to be more involved in the overall development of policies for prevention education. Lastly, appropriate funding has to be secured for local autonomous entities to foster and manage professional instructors for violence prevention education.