While parents are usually seen as protectors of their children, the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families found that among the 1,206 child abuse cases it handled last year, parents were the abuser in 1,031— or 85.5 percent — of the cases.
The fund also quoted figures released by the Ministry of the Interior, which showed that parents were the abusers in 10,054 — or 76.9 percent — of the 13,077 reported cases of child abuse last year.
“It's unfortunate that so many parents hurt their own children because of sudden emotional outbursts,” Miguel Wang (王明仁), the fund's executive director, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “We're worried that such cases may continue to increase because parents are under increasing pressure amid the global economic crisis.”
Wang said the fund had found that 64.3 percent of the child abuse cases it handled last year stemmed from a lack of parenting knowledge, followed by poverty and unemployment.
The situation has not improved this year. The fund said that of the 46 cases reported in newspapers in the first quarter, poor parenting skills, poverty and unemployment were again cited as the top three causes of abuse.
In one case, a father beat his infant daughter to death to stop her from crying; in another, a drug-addicted mother abandoned her two children; and in a third, a sleeping infant suffocated to death while the parents were having a meal right by the crib.
“On average, one child every 0.8 day gets hurt because of parental carelessness or inadequate care,” said Paul Shiao (蕭琮琦), director of the fund's social work department. “Many parents don't know how to take care of their children properly; some even use their children as tools to vent their emotions.”
Of the 46 cases reported this year, 15, or 32.6 percent, cited poverty or long-term unemployment as a factor.
“This shows that economic recession has a lot to do with the rise in child abuse,” Shiao said. “It's a serious issue and parents need some support from society to improve their parenting skills and to relieve some of their pressure.”
To avoid emotional outbursts, Shiao said parents could try to take 10 deep breaths and close their eyes to calm themselves when they are about to get angry with their children.
He also urged parents to seek help from social groups and to hug their children.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it