Suspected child abuse cases reported in 2012 rose 40%

[SibeiKuaiLan]

Updated: 11/23/2013 22:35 | By Channel NewsAsia

Suspected child abuse cases reported in 2012 rose 40%

SINGAPORE: Suspected child abuse cases in Singapore reported last year increased by some 40 per cent, compared to 2008.

The number of suspected child abuse cases in 2012 was 247 compared to 176 in 2008.

Most were physical abuse cases.

The Social and Family Development Ministry (MSF) said victims of child abuse are found in all sections of society, regardless of race, household income and educational qualifications of the parent and caregiver.

Recommendations made by the newly-set up Family Justice Committee to tackle the rising numbers of cases related to family violence included training teachers, doctors and lawyers to better identify victims of family violence.

Sherina Ann David, who works at the Child Protection Service at MSF, has been seeing more child abuse cases over the years.

She said this is due to greater awareness of child abuse and more efforts in public education.

There is now a counsellor in each school whom these children can turn to, and this has helped identify children at risk of abuse as most of the referrals come from schools.

The number of physical abuse cases almost doubled to 102 last year compared to 2008.

It was the dominant form of abuse, accounting for about 60 per cent of the total number of cases last year.

Sexual abuse cases stood at 52 or 30 per cent of cases last year, an increase of seven cases from four years ago.

The Singapore Children's Society also identifies children at risk of abuse and offers counselling to families as well.

Cases which are more serious in nature would be referred to MSF's Child Protection Service.

Koh Wah Khoon, senior director at Singapore Children’s Society’s Family Service Centre, said: "We had this boy who was in Primary 3...His mother used to use clothes hanger to cane him. So he will get scratched by the hook of the wire. He was beaten with the clothes hanger many times and this boy had a very bad temper -- he would destroy and throw things in the children's centre and he even broke our window pane and used vulgar words on the staff who looked after him.”

The MSF said in recent years, it has been seeing other forms of abuse such as neglect and emotional abuse.

There were eight cases of physical neglect and seven cases of emotional abuse last year.

This could be due to some of the children’s caregivers or parents suffering from mental health issues or various addictions.

Physical neglect could mean the denial of a child's basic needs where a parent or caregiver fails to provide adequate food, shelter or medical care.

Emotional abuse is the impairment of a child's social or emotional self, and disturbances to their behaviour may be caused by parental or caregiver's behaviour such as persistent hostility, blaming, rejection or even discrimination of the child.

Some of the tell-tale signs of child abuse may include repeated consultations for injuries.

Also, when children show signs of poor hygiene and are constantly tired, it may point to the fact that they are victims of neglect.

That is why experts say parents, caregivers and teachers have to have open and regular communication with children in order to identify early if they are victims of child abuse.

Ms David said the greatest challenge in fighting child abuse is the mindset that this is a private matter.

She added that besides the ministry, the community should also play a greater role in identifying children at risk of abuse and report it to the relevant authorities. - CNA/gn