Though the Taipei City Psychiatric Center (TCPC,
"Child abuse is a serious problem around the world and Taiwan is no exception," said Yeh Tzuo-wei (
In the US, more than 2 million children are abused or neglected per year and 2,000 children die as a result.
According to Yeh, abuse includes sexual, physical and psychological abuse as well as neglect. Of the 52 cases of abuse the TCPC has seen over five years, 23 were sexual in nature and 29 involved physical abuse and neglect.
"Abuse leaves deep scars on children's souls and greatly influences their intellectual and emotional development," Yeh said.
Normally, manifestations of abuse include depression, anger, retarded emotional development and emotional instability.
Yeh said that victims who are physically abused and neglected are prone to behavioral disorders, such as a tendency toward theft and delinquency.
For sexually abused victims, emotional problems such as anxiety and depression are often exhibited. Nineteen of the center's 23 sexual abuse cases fit this pattern, Yeh said.
Yeh told the Taipei Times that according to statistics, low socioeconomic status, broken families, parents with records of breaking the law and drug abuse correlate highly with child abuse.
Low levels of academic achievement among parents and entering teenage pregnancy were both associated with likely abuse, Yeh said.
Treatment should not only concentrate on children and adolescents, Yeh said.
Eliminating other related factors is also important in preventing child abuse from continuing, which can be addressed by providing counseling to the families of victims.
In Taiwan, awareness of the issue has been gradually increasing. The Chinese Children's Fund (
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