The number of child abuse cases handled by the child consultation centers in fiscal 2019 totaled a record high of 193,780, an increase of 21.2% from the previous fiscal year, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Wednesday.
With 33,942 more cases than in fiscal 2018, it marked the 29th consecutive year of record highs since the ministry started compiling statistics in fiscal 1990.
A primary factor in the rise was the increase in notifications or requests for consultation made to child consultation centers by schools, police and neighbors, a response to a spree of fatalities linked to child abuse over the years.
Looking at how consultation centers were notified of cases, those made through police or investigative agencies totaled 96,473, accounting for 49.8% of the total and an increase of 17,353 from the previous fiscal year. In terms of form of abuse, psychological abuse -- such as the child being exposed to domestic violence by parents -- accounted for the highest with 56%, with physical abuse at 25% and child neglect at 17%.
By prefecture, Osaka topped the list with 24,643 cases, followed by Tokyo with 21,659 and Kanagawa with 20,449.
-- Better cooperation
Cases in which schools initiated consultation increased 30% the previous fiscal year. This is seen as a result of better cooperation between the centers and schools, which have learned their lesson from horrific incidences of the past.
There is concern that this year, because the coronavirus pandemic has limited contact between schools and parents or guardians, it could be more difficult to detect incidences of child abuse.
But progress is being made, as can be seen in an incident in February this year, when a first-year elementary school girl in Metropolitan Tokyo confided to her teacher that her mother had hit her in the head with a bottle.
The revelation of child abuse started after the mother had sent a message to the school saying, "She will be absent because of an injury." The child has no father at home. When the school side visited the home to check on the child, the mother would not let them see her.
The child consultation center was notified and a case worker was able to confirm that there was a welt on the girl's head, but was unable to poke holes in the mother and girl's claim that she "fell down the stairs." In the end, the center determined it would "keep an eye on developments."
However, when the teacher brought up the injury with the girl two weeks later, she acknowledged she had been hit by her mother. In the end, the girl was placed in temporary care of the consultation center. "It was only because the school was fully engaged in the case that the girl was able to tell us the truth," the director of the center said. "That allowed us to move swiftly."
-- Delayed response
The number of cases initiated by schools, kindergartens and local boards of education totaled 14,828, up 3,379 from the previous fiscal year. But there seems to be no end to cases in which a lack of communication delayed responsive action.
In one well-publicized incident from May last year, a second-year elementary school boy in Sendai was being physically abused by his father. The boy had told his teacher and other school officials about the violence. But they failed to promptly inform the local child consultation center, and, as they were heading into the weekend, put off further questioning the boy.
Three days later, the boy, having been abused by his father again, rushed to a local police box seeking help, which was how the case came to light.
"If the child consultation center and concerned organizations fail to courteously share information and resort to protecting their turf, child abuse cases will be missed," said Meisei University Prof. Akira Kawamatsu, an expert on child abuse cases. "We need to find better ways, such as increasing face-to-face talks between schools and child consultation centers."
-- Pleading for help online
The pandemic has raised fears that child abuse cases are being kept hidden.
3keys, a Tokyo-based designated non-profit organization, saw a sudden spike between March and May in postings of abuse on its youth support website. "Because of the self-restraint on going out, contact between parents and children increased, leading to a possible escalation of child abuse," Takae Moriyama, representative director of 3keys, pointed out.
At schools, teachers are concerned about the drop in contact with parents and guardians. At Kasai Junior High School in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward, the parents' association has met only once in the current school year.
Principal Masaaki Uchino said, "Meetings with guardians and getting a chance to ascertain the family environment has decreased considerably. We are paying particular attention this year to any changes among our students at school."
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