Anti-discrimination bill wasn’t passed in the National Assembly, but the situation remains critical for South Korea’s vulnerable

By Um Ji-won, staff reporter

A bill to prevent various kinds of discrimination has failed to pass in South Korea’s National Assembly. The bill was criticized by conservative Christian groups, leading Democratic United Party lawmakers Kim Han-gil and Choi Won-sik to withdraw it. It is not an easy task to ban discrimination in Korea and the fight is still heated. The Ministry of Justice plans to propose the government’s own version of the law, which is why the Hankyoreh is continuing its special series on discrimination.

Yoon Jung-ah used to be a particularly diligent girl. When she was 7-years-old, Yoon lost her right leg in a car accident. The accident put her family in grief and Yoon, now a second-grade disabled person, became a kid who always stayed at home. Yoon put off middle school and helped with chores around the house.

Hoping to enter university as her older brother had, Yoon talked to her father about going to high school after she successfully graduated middle school. His response was harsh. “What’s the point of studying if you’re disabled?” he said. Yoon’s mother was also not supportive, saying, “Live quietly like other disabled kids and get married later.”

“I realized later when I grew up that most disabled men studied because their parents thought it was their only way to survive,” Yoon said. “Looking back, I think I have always been told to be dependent on others.” She had dreamed of being a teacher, but now works in a small factory.

Discrimination against disabled women is a kind of web that tangles up their whole lives. Being disabled and female at the same time, they fall victim to dual discrimination. The same holds true for female irregular workers, sexual minority youths and uneducated single mothers. This makes it all the more necessary to have a comprehensive anti-discrimination bill, even though similar individual laws such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Law and the disability discrimination act are already in effect.

Learning and getting a job is tough for these disabled women. According to a 2011 survey on the disabled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, only 5.9% of disabled women graduated from university, one-fifth the percentage of non-disabled women. Almost three times as many disabled men had post-secondary education (16.5%).

This means disabled women to have far fewer job opportunities. As for the employment rate for disabled people 15 years and older, 22.7% of women had jobs and 44.8% of men. The quality of the employment is low. 14.5% of disabled men and 85.8% of disabled women earn less than minimum wage, which means most of them are working in bad workplaces.

Disabled women are also deprived of their right to live safely. A 2010 survey by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family found that women with disabilities were three times more likely to suffer sexual assault than women without disabilities. This is probably due to the perception that disabled women must be weak or naive. “Some people make unnecessary physical contact while pretending to help me in public places,” said Cha So-yeon (not her real name), a visually impaired woman. “They seem to consider me inferior to them simply because I can’t see.”

“The government has conducted a general investigation into disability discrimination according to gender, but it was never specific enough to cover the complexity of disabled women and their suffering,” said Lee Jin-hee of Empathy for Women with Disabilities.

“The comprehensive anti-discrimination bill urgently needs to be passed in order to prevent dual discrimination in our society.”

　

Translated by Song Moo-bin, Hankyoreh English Intern

　

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]