Gyeonggi Province Launches Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Activities with 'Residents Prevention Group'

Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Province Integrated Gender Violence Response Group (hereinafter the Response Group) announced on the 12th that they will carry out field support activities (outreach) and campaigns at major hubs in southern and northern Gyeonggi to prevent child and youth sexual exploitation.

Through the 'Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Victim Response Center,' the Response Group provides customized integrated support that includes early identification of child and youth victims of sexual exploitation, institutional linkage, counseling, and psychological, medical, and legal support.

In particular, this year the 'Residents Prevention Group,' in which residents participate directly, has joined to help build a community safety net and carry out field-based prevention activities together.

The center, local related institutions, and the Residents Prevention Group plan to focus on areas with a high proportion of teenagers in southern and northern Gyeonggi to conduct on-site outreach and education, and to join efforts in the early identification of sexual exploitation victims, receiving reports, and providing counseling support.

Last year, the Response Group carried out field support activities a total of 13 times, focusing on areas with a large floating population of youth such as Suwon, Anyang, and Seongnam, achieving multifaceted support outcomes including counseling, education, and outreach for 2,331 people.

This year, field support will be further expanded to reflect the youth population ratio of the 31 cities and counties and the characteristics of the northern Gyeonggi region. Following campaigns in Bucheon, Seongnam, and Gwacheon in the first half of the year, campaigns will continue sequentially in Ansan on the 14th and Uijeongbu on the 28th.

The online response system will also be strengthened. Through online monitoring in which the Residents Prevention Group participates directly, the group monitors harmful environments of digital sexual exploitation, and continues to provide close-knit support such as offering real-time counseling and prevention information through a KakaoTalk open chat channel.

Director Lee Seong-eun said, "For sexual exploitation crimes targeting children and youth, early prevention and swift victim relief are the most important," adding, "Together with the Residents Prevention Group, we will establish a more thorough community response system."