9 in 10 Koreans identify domestic abuse as perpetrated by men against women

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More than 90 percent of Koreans consider domestic abuse as something perpetrated by men against women.

Domestic violence, defined in the Domestic Violence Punishment Act, is any abusive act between family members, including violence against a wife, husband, children, parents and between siblings.

A survey conducted by the Korean Women's Development Institute in November of last year which included 754 respondents found that only 11.5 percent of individuals correctly understood the definition of domestic violence.

According to the survey, 91.4 percent considered domestic abuse as something perpetrated by men against women. Violence inflicted by parents to children and violence by wives to husbands were the next highest, but with only about half at 52 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

When asked about who domestic violence local support agencies try to help, 87.9 percent said they only care for female victims.

While statistics show that men are more likely to perpetrate domestic abuse against women, men can also be victims. According to data from the Korea Family Law Counseling Center in 2018, out of 324 reported domestic violence perpetrators, 79 percent were male and 21 percent were female.

By Lee Jaeeun(jenn@heraldcorp.com)