Providing care for those who need it most

Lunar New Year is fast approaching and hordes of children are expecting red envelopes full of money at poignant family reunions. Regrettably, however, many neglected, mistreated or destitute children continue to suffer.

"Jerry," almost two, is waiting to be adopted by an American family in California. He was born healthy but was severely injured when his father slapped him several times during a row with his partner over money problems. As a result, Jerry partially lost his sight and is now completely deaf.

After receiving a report on the incident from the hospital which treated the injured boy, Taipei City Government's Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault stepped in and took the child into protective custody.

The parents, living in destitute conditions, were charged with a number of criminal offenses and social workers convinced them to put Jerry up for adoption.

"Tim" and "Tom" were seven and eight, respectively, when they lost their family home in a typhoon in 2001. Although facing abject poverty, their parents refused resettlement assistance from the government and moved the whole family into a small truck, in which it lived for more than two years. Taipei City Government took the parents to court for violating their childrens' rights to an education and placed the children in foster care.

These are just a few examples of a rising number of cases of children who are suffering physical, mental or sexual abuse. The cases also highlight the fact that Taiwan can do better in terms of providing a foster family system.

According to statistics released by the city government's social welfare department and the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (CCF/Taiwan), in 2004 the two agencies provided assistance and counseling to 1,047 abused children and youths in Taipei; and 2,059 children in the rest of Taiwan.

Tung Fu-chuan (童富泉), director of the city's prevention of domestic and sexual assault department said sudden and drastic changes in the social structure were the major underlying factors for child abuse. He said poor and single-parent families were more vulnerable to such social changes.

Why abusers inflict harm is a highly complex question. CCF/Taiwan's 2004 annual report profiled abusers and found 62.3 percent lacked parenting skills and 39.2 percent were said to be experiencing marital problems at the time the abuse was committed.

Other factors that appeared to contribute to abuse included lack of social resources, poverty, alcoholism, unemployment, drug abuse and mental problems. Most abusers were related to, or known to the abused.

"In 2004, over 77.7 percent of abuses were committed by the victims' parents. If we take childrens' grandparents, relatives or cohabitants into account, we found that more than 93 percent of abusers were close to the abused," the report said.

The majority of abusers were male and between 30 to 49 years of age. Lack of educational attainment may contribute to abuse cases, but the perpetrators include parents with a

college education or higher.

When a suspected child abuse case is found by the relevant authorities, the children at risk may be assisted by either Taipei's prevention of domestic and sexual assault department, or CCF/Taiwan, through hospital, school or court referral.

In 2004, 1,063 referrals due to suspected child abuse were identified outside of Taipei. Of these, 889 under-12s and 174 youths were placed in foster care due to physical abuse committed by their parents. Children aged between six and 12 are the largest group needing foster care.