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| Participants of the "2017 Seoul Debates" pose for a photo at the Hotel President in Seoul on April 20. /Courtesy of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family |
By Rachel Lee
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Seoul Policy Center opened the "2017 Seoul Debates" on April 20 to discuss ways to tackle gender-based violence (GBV).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family organized the two-day event at the Hotel President in Seoul. More than 100 government representatives, practitioners and society leaders from around world attended.
"Close partnerships are the key to achieving the elimination of GBV by 2030 and creating societies where women and girls are fully respected," Gender Equality and Family Minister Kang Eun-hee said.
About a third of women worldwide have experienced violence, according to the World Health Organization. GBV is specifically dealt with in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly.
The Sustainable Development Goals include a target to end GBV by 2030. Reducing GBV is seen as a catalytic driver for the achievement of peace, economic productivity, rights, justice and social cohesion.
Choi Jong-moon, deputy Minister for multilateral and global affairs, said the government, working with the "strong Korean civil society — has sought to introduce robust legal and institutional measures, combined with social education efforts, in fighting and preventing GBV in the country."
"To be sure, there are rich lessons that have been learned out of Korea's own experience in dealing with this challenge," Choi said. "Nevertheless, there is much to be improved in ‘getting to zero' on GBV in Korean society."
The meeting covered several aspects of Korea's experience in tackling GBV, including: legislation and policy work; enhancement of GBV case handling by the judiciary and police; mechanisms to support victims of GBV, including the Sunflower Center; the civil society movement and advocacy, and prevention efforts through capacity-building and public awareness-raising.
Through dedicated sessions, the Seoul Debates also highlighted the special importance of fighting GBV against children and people with disabilities, and GBV in the context of forced migration and sex trafficking.
"The ambitious agenda reflects the richness of this meeting in terms of participants as well as the complexity of addressing GBV," said Balazs Horvath, UNDP Seoul Policy Center director. "While there is no such thing as a ‘magic bullet' in solving such complex and deep-rooted problems as GBV, we believe in the power and value of knowledge sharing and partnerships in addressing this issue."
After almost five decades, the UNDP closed its country office in 2009 as Korea joined the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and became an official donor.
With this changed status of Korea, the "UNDP Seoul Policy Center for Global Development Partnerships" was established in 2011, with the objective of brokering new partnerships between Korea and the developing world through UNDP's global network in some 170 countries and territories.
The Seoul Debates is a flagship biennial event organized by the UNDP Seoul Policy Center as a means to fulfill its mandate to share Korea's experiences with partner countries on strategic development issues.
