In recent days, news of child abuse resulting in death or serious injuries to young children has taken over the headlines. The social problems underlying such tragic occurrences must be urgently analyzed and dealt with by the government. For the recent abuse cases are much more than isolated incidents. They are symptoms of deeply-rooted social problems that will not go away on their own.
In many incidents of child abuse, the abuse is inflicted against young children by their babysitters or nannies. The most glaring example is the recent death of a four-year-old girl as a result of horrifying abuse by her babysitter and the sitter's live-in boyfriend. Another example is the abuse of a baby boy about four years ago by his babysitter, which left him in a permanent vegetative state. The court only recently gave a verdict on that case. While the lawsuit against her was pending, the babysitter continued to care for other young children.
These stories -- along with far too many similar tragedies -- reflect dire problems with child care in Taiwan. In both of the examples cited above, the mother or the guardian had to entrust the child to a babysitter because she had to go to work. In today's Taiwan, a majority of mothers have to work and help support their families. Therefore, there is a tremendous need for child care. Some children are lucky enough to have grandparents who can look after them. However, that is becoming a less likely option, since most young couples these days do not live with their parents.
Therefore, more parents are turning to babysitters to look after their children while they work. The problem is, it's extremely difficult to find qualified and affordable nannies these days. While there are government-licensed babysitters, legal action against unlicensed babysitters is rare. So the number of licensed babysitters is extremely small. Furthermore, most parents don't even know there are actually licensed babysitters. And even with those small number of licensed babysitters, some people have questioned whether there is enough government supervision to ensure the quality of the child care they offer. Then there is the economic issue: most parents can't afford a well-trained -- let alone licensed -- nanny.
As part of the solution to those problems, the government should begin a campaign to boost both the quality and availability of child care. This means expanding the pool of licensed professional babysitters and nannies, requiring them to undergo adequate training and implementing supervision and monitoring systems. Another option is to open up immigration policy to allow in more foreign workers who are specifically trained to provide childcare.
Almost all cases of child abuse involve a poor or socially marginalized family. Parents who are unemployed, addicted to alcohol or drugs, have a history of physical violence or are divorced or single are at a higher risk of committing abuse. Many of them take out their frustrations on their children. How to identify these parents and offer them help before tragedies occur is an important task that must be tackled.
Finally, teachers, social workers, police, medical staff and the general public must be educated about child abuse and be on the alert for its telltale signs. Too many chances to prevent the abuse of helpless young victims have been lost as a result of a lack of alertness and awareness of the problem.
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