Forum discusses protection for single mothers
A speaker makes a presentation at the forum on helping single mothers held at the National Assembly, Monday./ Korea Times photo by Kim Se-jeong
By Kim Se-jeong
Last week, police in Busan found two dead babies in a refrigerator in a couple뭩 apartment. The woman living in the apartment was the mother of the babies. However, they had different fathers, other than her current live-in boyfriend. The woman told police that she had killed them out of fear the now ex-boyfriends would break up with her.
Scholars, lawmakers and activists said the incident demonstrated the failing government policies for single mothers. During a forum at the National Assembly, Monday, they cited the need for legislative efforts to bring about robust protection for them.
Korea is not a good place for single mothers. The stigma against them is strong; and this also contributes to the high rate of overseas adoptions.
According to government statistics from 2016 ― the first such attempt to count single mothers ― there were a reported 25,000 such women. There are laws to protect the women but they’re rarely observed because of strong cultural biases and prejudice.
Many at the forum acknowledged rampant social bias and discrimination in Korean society.
Park Young-mi from the Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network said, “more than 95 percent of single mothers quit their jobs because people began judging them. It’s illegal to fire single mothers, but they can’t cope with indirect discrimination.”
Kim Do-kyung from the Korean Unwed Mothers’ Families Association said the bias starts with public education. “In middle school sex education, the material explains one reason why people should practice contraception is because otherwise they would become single parents.”
Among other challenges facing them is finance. Many are young, even teenagers, with little means, if any, to support the child.
The government offers places where single mothers can spend the first couple of months after giving birth ― 17 across the country ― and provides a 900,000 won voucher, but the mothers find this falls short.
The participants also called on the government to be more generous when it comes to housing support. Less than 1 percent of single mothers own their homes and existing housing programs fall far short of their demands.
The mothers pleaded for government support in getting child support from fathers. Less than 10 percent of single mothers receive child support from their children’s fathers, according to statistics. Reasons for that included the administrative and legal procedures, which take at least six months, and the fear of losing state support if they get assistance from the fathers.