Violence in multiracial homes

The number of multiracial families in Korea is ever increasing. This is mainly due to what are called “international marriages” here of rural old bachelors and others who have difficulties in finding spouses from among Korean women and have to find wives from foreign countries, mostly in Southeast Asia.

The number of multiracial households is expected to reach 1 million by 2020. The increase is concurrent with various problems like discrimination, social prejudice and economic hardship, among others.

Of them, domestic violence is emerging as the most serious problem. A recent report showed that since 2013, domestic violence arrests have numbered 2,584. An average of 564 arrests occurred each year.

Gyeonggi Province had the most cases with 949, followed by 531 in Seoul and 132 in South Jeolla Province.

No doubt the number of domestic violence cases will sharply increase, if unreported cases are included.

Domestic violence takes place mostly in undetected and private spaces so is not easily discovered without a report by the victims to police or other related organizations. Many cases also end up being treated as “simple” marital quarrels.

In particular, foreign women have few friends or relatives to lean on in a foreign land when they suffer injury, and in many cases they cannot ask for police help due to language problems.

There are many private and public organizations to assist and support multiracial families under the Multicultural Family Support Law. But as for domestic violence, the neighbors’ role is most important. Police also need to act immediately upon reports about violence.

Law enforcement authorities should cooperate with multiracial family centers across the nation and local governments to help the family members settle here comfortably and safely. It is urgent to prevent and discover domestic violence in multiracial families early.