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There is a fierce controversy over the transfer of childcare
administrative duties from the Ministry of Health and Welfare
to the Ministry of Gender Equality.
The emerging opinion is that childcare should no longer be
focused on welfare alone, that is, on "care for infants
and toddlers whose guardians cannot provide childcare due
to work, illness or other circumstances" as stipulated
in Article 1 of the Infant Care Act; childcare should be regarded
from an overall point of view that encompasses issues concerning
women, family, children, birth and childcare.
Professor Kim Jong-hae of the Social Welfare Department of
Catholic University explains, "Childcare service is a
multi-faceted issue that isn't limited to just children."
This implies that the issue of childcare is no longer a private
issue that each family and mother has to deal with but a public
issue that concerns the entire society. This is the standpoint
from which Professor Kim recommends that "childcare policies
should be implemented as part of comprehensive policies related
to childbirth and childcare," and that "temporary
leaves from work for childbirth and childcare, as well as
childcare allowances, should be implemented from a pro-family
point of view."
Going into the details of the pro-family point of view, the
position of women groups is that a gender equal point of view
is much needed in implementing childcare policies. As Secretary-General
Nam Yoon In-sun of the Korea Women's Association United (KWAU)
put it, "the time has come for childcare policies to
be regarded from a woman's point of view."
Society has hitherto fixed childcare as a woman's role. In
the name of 'motherhood,' women have been responsible for
giving birth to and bringing up children. The value of care-giving
has made childcare an unpaid labor in the home for housewives
and a low-priced service in nurseries based on the reasoning
that childcare is a calling rather than a profession. Under
the circumstances, women groups are for the transfer of childcare
administration to the Ministry of Gender Equality, since the
Ministry will be able to deal with childcare from a more comprehensive
point of view that includes gender equality.
Secretary-General Nam Yoon also says that education should
now be seen from the demand rather than supply side. In other
words, "implementing childcare policies from the supplier's
(private childcare facilities) point of view brings on complications
due to conflicting interests, making it difficult to implement
a consistent philosophy or vision for childcare, thus the
goal should be to widen the range of choices for parents."
But if childcare administration is handed over to the Ministry
of Gender Equality, won't childcare be regarded even more
than before as a woman's responsibility? Superficially, that
may be the case. But childcare administration is an important
link in the pursuit of a gender equal society. Childbirth
and childcare are the main stumbling blocks to women's social
participation; the current reality is such women are forced
to give up their jobs after marriage or accept unstable contract-based
employment just because they have children.
Talking about women's response to this reality, Sociology
professor Cho Ahn Hye-jeong of Yonsei University says, "Woman
are going on childbirth strike and mothers are living with
serious anxiety and confusion. Korea is turning into a society
that shuns childbirth." Says Lee Yoon-kyung, representative
of the Korean Union of Childcare Workers, "Our organization
is currently putting the administrative transfer to a vote.
Many questions have been raised about the procedures involving
the transfer. Our organization will take all the time needed
for the convergence of our members' opinions before we announce
our position on this issue."
Lee emphasizes, "Although deciding which ministry should
be in charge of childcare administration is an important issue,
what is needed is a review of how far we've come in terms
of the 'socialization of childcare.'" Korean society
is facing rapid changes in the family structure and labor
market, while people's mentality is lagging behind. As Lee
put it, "We need discussions that break away from the
simplistic view that women's social participation infringes
on the child's rights."
Lee also says, "As I teach young children, always on
my mind is what kind of person I want these children to become.
I hope to put into practice from nursery stage the kind of
education that stresses all-rounded character-building rather
than academic performance."
Research professor Kim Jeong-hee with the Ehwa University
Korea Women's Institute stresses the need for "in-depth
discussions on the philosophy of childcare," saying,
"In these times when there is a global emphasis on education
for Nature and peace, efforts to follow this trend exist in
Korea as well. For example, we have community childcare or
eco-childcare education, and such institutions should be researched
and supported."
This means that gender equality in childcare will be furthered
when discussions move beyond talking about the transfer of
administrative duties to touch on the actual quality of childcare.
This is the essence of the 'paradigm shift in childcare policies'
that women groups are talking about.
KWAU is planning to hold a 'Women's Discussion for the Development
of Childcare Policies' at 2 p.m. on April 29, in the theater
of the Seoul YWCA. Panelist presentations will include alternative
family policies and advice for the childcare paradigm shift
in the times of low birth rates. Many people feel the need
to widen the scope of discussions on childcare issues, encompassing
not only women groups but also various interest groups.
On May 23, the Social Welfare Committee of the People's Alliance
for Participatory Democracy (PAPD) held a discussion in the
National Assembly building on the theme 'What is the rational
choice for the development of childcare?" The discussion
provided the opportunity to check the viewpoints of relevant
organizations regarding childcare and the transfer of administrative
duties to the Gender Equality Ministry. In her presentation
on the administrative handover, Professor Kim Jong-Hae called
for analysis of the current status of childcare policies and
discussion of future policy directions to precede the handover,
citing the following problems: ▲ problems in the process of
policy decision-making ▲ the lack of vision or philosophy
for government organization or administrative reform underpinning
the handover debate ▲ lack of clarification regarding how
the handover will contribute to solving the problems of current
childcare services.
Professor Kim also made the following recommendations for
the direction of future childcare policies: ▲ establishment
of comprehensive measures that guarantee both the quantitative
and qualitative development of childcare services ▲ implementation
of childcare policies as a part of comprehensive policies
that encompass childbirth and childcare ▲ child-centered point
of view ▲ break from the market rationale that focuses on
private organizations to pursue the public good and universality
of childcare.
Concluding her presentation, Professor Kim said, "Women
are almost being forced to participate in economic and social
activities, but the double standard of regarding childcare
and household chores as women's roles still remains."
Kim claims that childcare policies should be dealt with as
part of pro-family polices that can facilitate positive changes
in children, families, and women's social participation.
A member of a women group pointed out that despite the progressive
nature of Kim's presentation, there were limitations in the
discussion, saying, "Most of the participants are stakeholders
and officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and
we're still restricting the debate to which Ministry should
be in charge of childcare administration."
Assemblywoman Kim Seong-sun, member of the New Millennium
Democratic Party and the Health and Welfare Committee under
the National Assembly, was also a discussant. She said, "The
administrative transfer is a matter of government organization,
not a matter of the quality of childcare. What the Ministry
of Gender Equality should do is induce greater social participation
by women." She invited criticism by stressing her standpoint
that women's social participation and childcare are two separate
issues.
Lee Kye-yoon, president of the National Association of Childcare
Facilities for Disabled Children, opposed the administrative
handover, saying, "The demand for childcare stems from
the children, not the mothers. The problem lies in supervision
and management rather than in the childcare system itself,
so we need to increase the number of public officers in charge
of childcare administration."
In response, Women Policies director Kim Ae-ryang from the
Ministry of Gender Equality said, "If our society becomes
a genuine gender equal society, the issue of childcare could
be easily resolved. The Gender Equality Ministry has already
established the foundation to handle childcare administration.
If the children in childcare facility are to be happy, the
caregivers must be happy, which is ultimately about keeping
women happy."
Participants to this discussion held by the Social Welfare
Committee of the PAPD pointed out that the theme 'What is
the rational choice for the development of childcare?' limited
the issue to the administrative handover, preventing a productive
debate among participants.
A member of the audience threw the following question after
the discussion, representing the voice from the field.
"The Ministry of Health and Welfare keep talking about
welfare for this, welfare for that, but I wonder if it even
regards childcare as part of welfare. Four children have died
in private childcare facilities, but the Ministry doesn't
even seem to be aware of this. So why does the Welfare Ministry
insist on hanging on to childcare administration? It doesn't
have to be the Ministry of Gender Equality; it could be the
Ministry of Defense for all I care as long as they implement
childcare policies properly."
<reported by Dong Kim Sung-hye dong@womennews.co.kr>
 ◀
Eight men have joined hands as peace messengers.
They call themselves the Peace Boys, and will be making their
appearance at the third Women's Marathon organized by The
Women's News, where their duty will be to show to the
participants the fervor and desire for peace in a fun and
easy way. The group will be the only men in the all-women
marathon.
The eight peace lovers are Kang Ji-won from the law firm
Cheongji, Kim Byung-hu, psychiatrist and representative of
Fathers who Love Their Daughters, congressman Park Jin from
the Grand National Party, singer-songwriter Yoo Yeol, vocalist
Lim Woong-kyun, professor Pyo Chang-won from the Police Academy,
TV personality Hong Seok-cheon, and marathon coach Hwang Young-jo
from the Seoul Olympic Sports Promotion Foundation.
From professor to singer, they come from all walks of life.
Marathon participants will get to see them on May 11 wearing
the Peace Boys uniform. Their task is to deliver the anti-war
peace message at mass sporting events.
They will be running in the 3-km Family Peace course, and
will take the 5-km National Peace course in a relay, covering
1km each. Spectators will be treated to the sight of these
men waving flags and balloons and shouting slogans while running.
The Peace Boys all say, "We're elated to be participating
as men in an all-women marathon for peace."
<reported by Hye-won nancal@womennews.co.kr>
Cho Joo-hyun / professor, Women's Studies,
Keimyung University
There are two characteristics of sexual violence cases that
occur on university campuses.
First of all, most of the sexual violence cases occur in
a closed situation involving just the aggressor and victim.
In other words, there is rarely a third party witness, and
in most cases, no physical evidence such as tangible signs
of aggression. The truth lies in either the testimony of the
victim or the aggressor. In sexual violence cases where physical
evidence is not the main element in investigations, asking
for physical evidence lays the onus on the victim alone. That
is why unlike other criminal cases, sexual violence cases
are an unfair game in which the burden on victims increases
with time.
Secondly, the aggressor and victim in sexual violence cases
on campus are not individuals A and B but professor A and
female student B. In Korean society, universities are representative
organizations that wield symbolic power. Not only because
universities are the cradles of knowledge but also because
relationships between classmates, junior and senior, and teacher
and disciple formed in universities constitute a major axis
in Korean society. In Korean universities, the relationship
between professors and students is based on authority that
goes beyond the giving and receiving of academic credits,
and this relationship continues even after the students graduate.
In such a structure, professors are representatives of universities,
and unlike the West, they are expected to have knowledge and
moral character in the likes of classic scholars of the pre-modern
era.
Such expectations are evident in victims' accounts, where
they say, "It was as shocking as being molested by my
father or the church pastor." Lacking physical evidence
and based on the teacher-disciple relationship, and occurring
in the context of the Korean culture that looks down on sexual
violence victims on top of that, sexual violence on campus
is often put down as imagined cases. Students doubt the success
of exposing the professor as the culprit and bringing him
to justice while receiving protection for themselves. Under
the circumstances, it is encouraging to see the handful of
courageous female students making the difficult choice of
initiating open discussions on sexual violence cases. They
regard women groups as the only third party they can turn
to in solving their problems.
However, women groups supporting such female students have
recently been sued for libel by the professors involved. In
Daegu, for example, professors K (of K University in Gyeongsan)
and L (of K University in Daegu), sued the two co-representatives
of Korea Women's Hotline Daegu for libel in cyberspace. The
defendants were ordered to pay up 2 million Won by the Assembly
Court in October 2002 and 1 million Won by the Appeal Court
in April 2003.
K was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a 3-year suspension
of that sentence, and L has been dismissed by his university,
but the court still fined the two Hotline representatives
because "they had disclosed the professors' names on
the Internet based on the one-sided account of the victim
alone." The committee set up to deal with the libel suit
took issue with the ruling, saying that the ruling had "adverse
effects on the public good," but the court in Daegu did
not accept the claims of the women groups.
In a situation where victims of sexual violence on campus
face difficulties publicizing their case, allowing aggressors
to file libel suits against women groups supporting the victims
is an attitude that disregards the nature of sexual violence
on campus while overly emphasizing the privacy of only the
aggressors.
In dealing with sexual violence cases on campus, the focus
should be on circumstantial rather than physical evidence,
based on which it should be decided if it is the victim or
the aggressor who is telling the truth. Sexual violence is
a matter of human rights before legal technicalities. Korean
society must shift towards a new paradigm in which legal interpretations
can be questioned should law and justice fail to protect human
rights.
(The Women's News http://www.womennews.co.kr)
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