Friday, Nov 16, 2012
TAIPEI - The number of severe child abuse and murder cases has increased 60 per cent this year compared to 2011, the Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF) said yesterday at a press conference at Minzu elementary school in Taipei.
According to the CWLF, there have been 73 severe child abuse and murder cases in 2012 so far - higher than the 45 cases recorded in 2011.
Of the 73 cases in 2012, 28 children died and 40 per cent of the victims were under the age of 3.
The number of children in protection programs has increased from 10,094 people in 2006 to 17,667 people in 2011.
Over 70 per cent of the 73 cases this year were never reported to social welfare officials. These figurers are a warning that the safety of children is at risk, CWLF said.
The CLWF said the main cause of child abuse was severely improper disciplining by parents. It is important for parents to control their emotions, instead of yelling or beating children, the foundation said.
The CWLF also stressed that a child is not the property of a family, so people should not see child abuse as a private family matter. The CWLF suggested that everyone should work together to protect the children around them.
Over 100 elementary school students attended the conference wearing orange ribbons as part of Taiwan's Orange Ribbon Movement, launched by the CWLF to protect children.
The first Orange Ribbon Movement was created by a child welfare organisation in Japan in 2005 following the death of two brothers, aged three and four, who were beaten to death by their father.
In 2007, the Japanese government declared November "Stop Child Abuse Month." As part of this, people began wearing orange ribbons to show their of the movement.
The movement asks people to become the voice of children who are abused, keep an eye on children they know and immediately report any cases of child abuse, the CWLF said.
