The Child Welfare League Foundation yesterday released the results of a survey targeting "high-risk families" and said that only by addressing the source of child-abuse can children be truly protected from harm.
Last year alone, at least 40 children were killed by their suicidal parents or died because of abuse.
The number of children reportedly abused during the same period reached 9,897, according to the foundation.
This means on average, one child is abused every 53 minutes, said Alicia Wang (
Common trait
All the parents involved in these cases share a common trait -- a lack of ability to take care of their children either due to sickness, drug or alcohol problems, or suicidal tendencies, Wang said.
These families are called "high-risk families" because child abuse is more likely to occur in these households, she said.
Survey results showed that 50 percent of these families have economic difficulties and 40 percent have marriage problems, Wang said.
These children often suffer from a lack of three proper meals a day, money for medical care and are often left at home alone, she said.
Wang said that one out of five children either only have instant noodles or bread for their meals, or nothing at all.
These families are often removed from society, are distant from their relatives and neighbors and thus lack support, she said.
Disabilities
Fifty percent of the children in the families surveyed have physical or mental disabilities, are hyperactive or autistic, and cannot control their own emotions, Wang said.
"Many of these children are forced to grow up too fast. They need to learn to take care of themselves at a very young age since their parents cannot," Wang said.
"The best way to protect these children is to discover these high-risk families as soon as possible and give them the help they need," she added.
Wang said that the found-ation's social workers currently help children in more than 97 townships.
The foundation also hopes to gather funds to establish a "Children's Safety Protection Station" to more effectively deal with the rising cases of reported abuse, she said.
The survey, conducted from Feb. 10 to Feb. 22, polled 500 high-risk families who are currently being helped by the foundation.
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