Wed, Apr 29, 2020 page3

• ‘Daily tools’ are the 10 most common implements used in child abuse: group

  SPECIAL EFFECTS: The organization launched a photo campaign on social media to raise awareness in which people share photographs of themselves with ‘wounds’

  • By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter
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  Hangers, belts and wooden bats are among the most common implements used to abuse children, the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families said yesterday.

  Other common items include back-scratchers, pointers, water hoses, cigarettes and feather dusters, as well as the hands and legs, the organization said.

  While the fund did not provide numbers, it said that it identified the 10 items as the ones most commonly used to inflict harm on children based on the observations of its social workers.

  

  Members of the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families yesterday hold an activity in Miaoli County’s Jhunan Township for the organization’s Child Protection Day to raise awareness about child abuse.

  Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families via CNA

  “Daily tools that are readily available are often misused and turned into the accomplices of child abusers or weapons for parents to discipline their children,” fund CEO Betty Ho (何素秋) said. “No child should have to endure harm.”

  People can help prevent incidents by being observant and reporting potential child abuse to authorities, she said.

  The organization yesterday marked its annual Child Protection Day, which it created in 2013 to raise awareness about child abuse and the importance of caring for children.

  At the Social Innovation Lab in Taipei, the fund unveiled a statue of a girl by actress Summer Meng (孟耿如) and TV host Mickey Huang (黃子佼) to help raise awareness about child abuse.

  The images on the girl’s dress — which were painted by Meng — represent the tears of children who have suffered abuse, while the bright colors symbolize hope, the fund said.

  The base — which was designed by Huang in the shape of an inverted triangle — seeks to depict a sense of unsteadiness, it said.

  The statue is to be displayed at the Social Innovation Lab until Sunday next week, after which it would be moved to the Citylink shopping center in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) for exhibition until at least May 25, it added.

  The organization also launched a photo campaign on social media to raise awareness and encourage donations to help fund its efforts to help victims of child abuse.

  Using special effects, it created images of wounds on the body and invited people to share photographs of themselves with the images covering their body parts, along with a message from the organization.

  The message includes several hashtags, including one for the 113 child protection hotline.

  Last year, 11,113 children were abused in Taiwan, the organization said, citing data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, adding that it was the largest number since 2014.
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