Suggestions for Preventing Abuse of Persons with Disabilities: Focusing on the revision of ｢Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilties｣ and comparative legal review of Japanʼs ｢Act on Prevention of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities｣

The National Assembly is constantly discussing the enactment of the “Act on Special Cases on the Punishment of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities” for crimes of abuse of persons with disabilities. The enactment's arguments primarily call for zero tolerance and harsh penalties. However, it raises questions about the effectiveness of responding to the crime of abuse of the disabled only with aggravated punishment. In order to respond to abuse of the disabled, various cause analysis and approaches are needed. In particular, in the case of abuse by guardians of the disabled, if the guardian's economic and emotional burden leads to abuse, it will be more effective to prevent abuse of the disabled through education and support rather than severe punishment for the abuser. Then, in order to prevent abuse of the disabled, we looked at whether the current Welfare of the Disabled Act is meaningless in responding to abuse of the disabled. In addition, Japan's “Act on Prevention of Abuse of Persons with Disabilities” was comparatively reviewed. It was intended to effectively prevent abuse of the disabled and to propose practical countermeasures.