Violence Against North Korean Refugee Women: Doubly Victimized By Repatriation and Premigration Traumatic Experiences

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of traumatic events on the mental health of North Korean refugee women by examining the prevalence and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety in comparison with their male counterparts (women = 496; men = 131). Our results suggest that women are at greater risk of developing mental health problems than men. In particular, symptoms of PTSD and anxiety were higher among women who experienced forced repatriation to North Korea, which is operationalized as a constellation of gendered traumatic incidents such as sexual abuse, rape, witnessing infanticides, and forced abortion. The policy implications of our results and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

Properties of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in North Korean Defectors: A Scoping Review

“…26 The range of CPTSD prevalence was 11.3% 27 to 40.7%, 9 while another study reported a lifetime prevalence of 15.3%. 11 Twenty-four studies were conducted with participants living in the community, 9,11,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][46][47][48]61,62 8 studies at Hanawon (The Settlement Support Center for North Korean defectors), 26,27,[50][51][52][53][54][55] 6 studies at medical centers, 25,45,48,[56][57][58][59] and 2 studies were conducted using an online survey. 49,60 Out of 40 studies reviewed, only one study reported the longitudinal trajectories of the mental health of North Korean defectors.…”