Women's Emergency Phone 1366: Increase in Domestic Violence Counseling and Rise in Male Usage Rates

Last year, the Women's Emergency Phone 1366 (hereafter 1366) supported an average of approximately 804 cases of violence victim counseling per day, totaling over 293,000 cases.

While the total number of counseling cases saw a slight decrease compared to 2023, counseling cases for stalking victims increased by more than 61% compared to the previous year.

On the 28th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Korea Women's Human Rights Center announced these findings while revealing the operational performance of the Women's Emergency Phone 1366 for 2024.

The emergency call center 1366 provides initial counseling and emergency rescue and protection services to victims facing difficulties due to domestic violence, sexual violence, prostitution, stalking, dating violence, and digital sexual crimes.

Last year, counseling for domestic violence victims amounted to a total of 148,884 cases, accounting for 50.7% of all consultations. Notably, counseling for stalking and dating violence victims saw significant increases. Counseling cases for stalking victims reached 14,553, marking a 61.4% increase compared to the previous year, while counseling for dating violence victims also increased by 23.4%, totaling 11,338 cases.

It is also noteworthy that the rate of male victims utilizing counseling services has been steadily increasing. The male proportion of total consultations was 5.2% in 2022, 5.9% in 2023, and 6.3% in 2024.

The main types of consultations were domestic violence (66.2%), digital sexual crimes (13.1%), and stalking (12.6%). This change reflects a growing awareness in society that men can also be victims of violence.

Emergency shelters established to respond to urgent crisis situations for victims were utilized by a total of 4,486 people over the past year, with residents receiving protection for an average of approximately 2.7 days. The primary type of victimization among residents was domestic violence, followed by dating violence and sexual violence.

Jo Yong-soo, director of the Rights Promotion Bureau of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, stated, "The Women's Emergency Phone 1366 is expanding its role not only as a provider of initial counseling and emergency rescue services for victims of violence but also as a local community integration structure."

He added, "We will continue to strengthen our service capabilities to ensure that anyone, regardless of gender or age, can receive prompt assistance."

Image source: Reference photos for the understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank