Posting naked pictures in front of the house and assaulting dogs... Dating violence goes beyond

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Hot topic drama JTBC ‘The World of the Married’.Doctor Ji Seon-woo (Kim Hee-ae) saves patient Min Hyeon-seo (Shim Eun-woo) after witnessing her being brutally assaulted by her live-in boyfriend.
Afterwards, Min Hyun-seo, who accused her boyfriend of assault, meets Ji Sun-woo and tells her.

“The teacher was the first person who helped me when I was being beaten.”


However, the number of victims suffering from ‘this crime’ is increasing day by day. Since it is something that happens between lovers, it can happen when you are in love.

It is dating violence, a crime committed in the name of ‘love.’

On the 14th, a man in his 20s was arrested for threatening to distribute a sex video to his girlfriend who asked for a breakup.

This man also showed cruelty by assaulting his girlfriend's dog with a brick.

Earlier in the same month, a teenage man was booked on charges of threatening his ex-girlfriend by posting a nude photo of her on the front door of her house.

It is reported that this man even called the woman's parents to check if they had seen the photo.

According to National Police Agency statistics (2019 Police White Paper), the number of reports of dating violence is increasing every year.

9,364 cases were reported in 2016, 14,136 cases in 2017, and 18,671 cases in 2018.

Of these, 70% of victims are women.

The number of people arrested also showed a steady increase.

The number was 6,675 in 2014, 7,692 in 2015, 8,367 in 2016, 10,303 in 2017, and 10,245 in 2018.

Lee Chang-hoon, a professor of police administration at Hannam University, explained, "You could say that dating violence itself has increased, but this is because awareness of dating violence has expanded, and awareness of reporting has also increased, leading to higher reporting rates."

However, there is still no legislation in Korea to prevent and punish dating violence that takes into account the characteristics of the crime. Depending on the type, criminal laws such as assault, intimidation, and rape are applied and punished.

In contrast, the UK and US already have dating violence legislation.

The UK's so-called 'Claire's Law' (domestic violence criminal record disclosure system) was named after a woman who was murdered by her boyfriend in 2009. This is a law that allows the disclosure and viewing of a dating partner's violent record.

In the United States, the victim protection system was strengthened by including dating violence in the 'Violence Against Women Act' enacted in 1994.

In our National Assembly, in 2017, Democratic Party lawmaker Pyo Chang-won and then-Liberty Korea Party (now United Future Party) lawmaker Shin Bora proposed laws to punish and prevent dating violence, but these bills were not passed. There are also differing opinions in the legal and academic circles regarding the enactment of a separate bill.

Kwak Dae-kyung, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University, emphasized, "Regarding problematic behavior (dating violence), an atmosphere must be created in academia, social organizations, and the National Assembly to talk openly about the scope and level of punishment that is considered appropriate and reasonable in our society."

Shim Jae-guk, a lawyer at Daeryun Law Firm, said, "If the Special Act on Dating Violence Crimes is enacted, it seems that provisions to protect victims more in criminal procedures should be included, such as the Special Act on Punishment of Sexual Offenses and the Special Act on Punishment of Domestic Violence."

A problem that is constantly recurring: dating violence.
According to data from the National Police Agency, 51 people died from the crime between 2016 and 2018.
Amid the social perception that it is a love quarrel and the lax legal system, unfortunate victims continue to emerge.

Reporter Lee Eun-jeong, Intern Reporter Kim Jeong-hu / Narrator Kim Jeong-hu, Intern Reporter

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