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August 25, 2004
Child Abuse Soars Amid Economic Slump
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
About one-third of abused children were found to suffer mistreatment daily, in many cases at the hands of their own parents, according to a report from the Health and Welfare Ministry Tuesday.
A total of 3,255 child abuse cases have been reported to the National Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse during the first half of this year, up 34 percent from the same period last year.
``Child abuse has increased mainly due to economic difficulties such as unemployment and credit card debt default, as we can see a high rise in neglect cases while physical abuse cases have decreased,’’ Han Ji-suk, staff of the child abuse prevention center, told The Korea Times.
She also said reports on child abuse have surged due to the increased number of prevention centers nationwide and their activities enhancing public awareness about child abuse.
Among those reports, 1,591 cases were acknowledged as child abuse through on-site investigations, up 12 percent compared with last year’s 1,417 cases.
About 81 percent, or 1,284 child abuse cases of the total number were found to have been committed by their own parents. Some 32 percent of those children were also found to suffer abuse everyday.
Over 38 percent of the children were reported to have suffered more than two kinds of mistreatments such as physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. More than 36 percent of the total reports were cases in which parents neglected to send their children to school and failed to provide them with basic food, clothing, shelter and medical treatment.
Children 9-11 years old accounted for 25 percent of abuse victims, followed by children 6-8 years old with 22 percent, and children 12-14 years old with 18 percent.
About one-third, or 529 cases occurred in single-parent families with only a father. Some 25 percent of abuse, or about 400 cases, occurred in two-parent families, followed by families without fathers with 12 percent and families in which the parents remarried with 8 percent.
There are 37 child abuse prevention centers across the nation, with 17 of them newly set up this year, and the ministry plans to establish 10 more. The centers conduct on-site investigations of suspected abuse cases and provide education and consultation on abuse. Those wanting to report child abuse can call 1391.
Posted by Nealus at August 25, 2004 12:45 PM
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