Mental Health Conditions Among North Korean Female Refugee Victims of Sexual Violence
| Date | 01 April 2017 |
| Published date | 01 April 2017 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12300 |
Mental Health Conditions Among North
Korean Female Refugee Victims of Sexual
Violence
Jae Yop Kim*, Hee Jin Kim**, Kwonho Choi*** and Boyoung Nam****
ABSTRACT
The study aims to examine the negative effects of sexual violence on North Korean (NK)
female refugees in South Korea. Although the prevalence of sexual violence victimization is
extremely high and mental health problems are serious among these refugees, little to no
research has been done on the relationship between sexual violence and mental health among
these women. The mental health conditions of two groups of women (sexual violence victims
and those who have not experienced sexual violence) were compared using ANCOVA analy-
ses. The results show that suicidal ideation and alcohol use are significantly more prevalent in
the sexual violence group than in the non-sexual violence group. The women who had experi-
enced sexual violence in particular should be provided with more professional and sustained
treatment and management services. The government must improve the effectiveness of exist-
ing policies related to suicide and the drinking culture in South Korea.
INTRODUCTION
The mental health of North Korean (NK) female refugees in South Korea is often alarmingly poor
(J.Y. Kim, W.J. Ryu and J.M. Kim, 2014; Jeon et al., 2005). Most NK refugee women have expe-
rienced trauma such as sexual violence, human trafficking, forced marriage, or forced sex work
while fleeting from their country (Chan and Schoenhardt, 2007; Lee, 2011a; Lee, 2011b; Park and
Kang, 2011), which may cause poor mental health as well as difficulties settling in South Korea
(Chung and Kim, 2014).
International instances of “hidden violence”against refugee women have consistently emerged
(Flynn et al., 2014; Pittaway et al., 2007). Approximately one in five refugees or displaced women
has experienced sexual violence (Vu et al., 2014). Asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in
Belgium and the Netherlands are extensively victimized by sexual violence (Keygnaert et al., 2012)
and migrant women from Central and Eastern Europe and from the former Soviet Union are also
trafficked into the sex trade (Corrin, 2005).
Moreover, NK female refugees face threats of sexual violence during their journey from NK to
South Korea via China (Lee, 2011a; Lee, 2011b; Park and Kang, 2011). Because of the highly con-
centrated militarized zone between the two Koreas, all NK female refugees, without exception,
* Yonsei University, Republic of Korea
** Myongji University, Republic of Korea
*** Woosong University, Republic of Korea
**** University of Maryland, USA
doi: 10.1111/imig.12300
©2016 The Authors
International Migration ©2016 IOM
International Migration Vol. 55 (2) 2017
ISS N 00 20- 7985 Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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