SEOUL, July 30 (Yonhap) -- Half of people out of romantic relationships experienced abuse by their partners in the process of their divorce or separation, a government survey showed Thursday.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family conducted the survey on 9,077 men and women across the country last year and found that 50 percent of those who had experienced a breakup had survived at least one form of abuse before or afterward.

The types of abuse were physical, sexual, economic or emotional, the ministry said.

The survey also found that 29.1 percent of women and 18.9 percent of men had become victims of stalking before or after their separation, with physical stalking accounting for 26.8 percent among women and 16.3 percent among men.

Stalking via social media and other technology accounted for 13.7 percent among women and 9.9 percent among men.

The proportion of people who had experienced physical, sexual, economic or emotional abuse by their current spouse or partner in the past year came to 5.9 percent, down 1.7 percentage points from the previous survey in 2022.

More than two-thirds, or 68.5 percent, of respondents said they had never taken any action after being severely abused by their spouse or partner, up 15.2 percentage points from the 2022 survey.

The percentage among women was 65.6 percent while among men it was 74 percent.

Reasons for not taking action included thinking it would be OK after the moment passed (36.3 percent), thinking the abuse was not serious (34 percent) and feeling embarrassed and humiliated (31.4 percent).

Asked to choose the most needed policy to prevent domestic violence, those surveyed gave the most votes to "appropriate punishment for the perpetrator."

Other suggestions included promotion of legal and other support measures for victims of domestic violence and education against violence at schools and workplaces and within local communities.

Gender Equality Minister Won Min-kyong said her ministry will revise relevant laws and systems to better support victims and work closely with other agencies to draw up tailored policies for the victims.

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

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