Why couldn't the life of a little child be saved? The latest tragic, shocking incident has highlighted inadequacies in the arrangements for the prevention of child abuse. It is vital to uncover the truth behind the circumstances leading to the incident, thereby drawing lessons for the future.
Yua Funato, a 5-year-old girl, died in Tokyo's Meguro Ward in March after being abused by her parents.
In response to the incident, the government held a meeting of relevant Cabinet members. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed them to consider preventive measures, saying, "I truly feel my heart will break when I think about the feelings of the little child." Efforts should be made to implement effective steps.
"I'll try to do better tomorrow." "Please forgive me. Forgive me."
These words of apology for her parents were left by Yua in a notebook using the hiragana letters she had just learned.
The girl's father, indicted for inflicting bodily injuries on her, had imposed extraordinary rules on her, such as getting up at 4 a.m. to study. He used violence against the girl if she could not follow these rules. He did not feed her sufficient meals, and her mother allowed his behavior.
Still Yua tried to obey her parents, longing for her parents' love -- her cry for help from the heart is gutwrenching.
Yua was born to the woman and a different man. Her young brother, who was born to her current parents, was said not to have been abused.
Govts must be united
A child consultation center in Kagawa Prefecture, where Yua's family was living, had temporarily placed her under protective custody on two occasions, citing her father's violence as the reason for its actions. After these measures were suspended, the case was switched to measures centering on guidance for her parents. Immediately before the family moved to Meguro Ward in January, these were also suspended. Were these actions appropriate decisions?
A child consultation center in Tokyo received information from the Kagawa center, and the Tokyo center visited Yua's home, but her mother rejected its request for a meeting with the girl. Although Yua was not seen in an orientation meeting for parents and children, who were to enter elementary school, the Tokyo center did not take emergency steps.
The Kagawa and Tokyo child consultation centers did not share the same perception regarding the danger in the girl's situation. The blame must fall on the two centers for their lack of mutual cooperation in the case.
Yua had been repeatedly abused in the past, and her parents refused contact with child consultation centers. The situation was not visible to third-party persons as she was not attending a kindergarten or any other facility. In Tokyo, there must have been many signals that the girl could be suspected of being abused.
Child consultation centers have the authority to conduct on-site inspections at households and separate children from their parents. They can also ask police for cooperation. Arrangements for securing the safety of children have been strengthened. However, such centers are said to have a tendency to prioritize building relations with parents and hesitate to exercise their power.
The number of cases in which child consultation centers respond to child abuse has risen to 3.3 times the level 10 years ago, while the number of child welfare caseworkers rose to only 1.4 times the earlier level during the same period.
The government has hurriedly included such measures in its basic policy package as those aimed at strengthening the capacity of child consultation centers. The central and local governments need to be united in tackling the problem.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 17, 2018)
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