The Children’s Rights Alliance Taiwan yesterday urged the government to review its standard operating procedures regarding potential child-abuse cases, following four incidents involving young children since Saturday last week.
“The home is supposed to a safe haven for children, but the alliance has been stunned by the seemingly endless reports of child-abuse cases, in which the abusers could be the child’s biological parents, grandparents or close relatives,” alliance director-general Georgie Hsieh (解慧珍) said.
Citing Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics, Hsieh said the number of child-abuse cases has increased 3.5 times over the past decade, with a total of 11,589 children physically abused last year.
Several deaths were reported over the past week, including the case of a man from Hsinchu City who allegedly smothered his one-year-old daughter to death using a towel before dumping the body in front of his estranged wife’s house.
On Tuesday, a two-year-old boy from Hsinchu died of a comminuted fracture to the head after a male relative allegedly hit his head against a wall.
His one-year-old sister is being treated in an intensive-care unit after suffering from multiple bruises, kidney failure and dehydration.
“One of the main reasons the number of child abuse incidents is increasing is a shortage of social workers, while the high turnover rates and lack of experience among child-welfare staff also plays a part,” Hsieh said.
Hsieh said that in the case involving the siblings, their mother gave birth to her first child when she was 15 years old.
Hsieh said the tragedy might have been prevented if her school and social workers had intervened to ensure the best possible arrangement for her children.
The alliance urged the government to review its procedures and unify the practices of local governments regarding the handling of children in high-risk families.
It also urged the government to increase the number of social workers by launching a long-term training program and offering overtime subsidies.
“The government should also intervene proactively in cases where a child is born to parents aged 16 or below who do not have a support system to avoid possible tragedies,” the non-government organization said.
Department of Protective Services Director Chang Hsiu-yuan (張秀鴛) said the rising number of abuse cases involving children aged six or younger suggests that there is room for improvement in the ministry’s efforts to prevent the maltreatment of children.
“Nevertheless, we urge the public to extend their concern to families with children aged younger than six who are not enrolled in schools and call the government’s 113 child-protection hotline upon learning of cases of children being mistreated,” Chang said.
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