The spread of novel coronavirus infections has increased the risk of child abuse. It is important to improve preparedness to detect any signs of abuse at the earliest possible stage.
Some parents say they have slapped their children because they were crying loudly, while others expressed fears that they might abuse their infant children while under the stress of not being able to see anyone else.
These are among many comments that parents are making on telephone helplines or around-the-clock online help desks operated by various organizations, including private-sector ones, saying they are having a hard time coping amid the coronavirus crisis.
Child consultation centers across the country dealt with 27,000 cases of abuse from April to May, when the state of emergency was declared. The figure was down 2% from the same period last year, a contrast with the pattern of child abuse reports increasing every year.
This is apparently because people in communities where children live have fewer chances to notice anything unusual as children are spending more time at home because of school closures and stay-home requests. It is reasonable to surmise that child abuse has merely become invisible.
Municipalities in various parts of the nation have postponed their health checkups for infants and toddlers to avoid the risk of infections, while many parents are also putting off having their children vaccinated.
In June, a 3-year-old girl was found to have died in Tokyo after being left alone at home. Her mother, who has been arrested in the case, allegedly failed to bring the girl to a health checkup for 3-year-olds last year.
Health checkups for infants and toddlers, as well as vaccinations, are important opportunities for doctors and public health workers to check the development of children and their relationships with parents, as well as to detect signs of abuse at an early stage. Hopefully, municipalities will make sure to hold these checkups by adding some modifications, such as examining children one by one, rather than doing so in groups that would cause a crowded setting.
It is worrisome that in some cases, parents who are suspected of abusing their children refuse visits to their homes by child consultation center officials, citing the risk of infections.
Officials are urged to check the conditions of these children in various ways, such as making phone calls to their home and then asking to speak to the children, or providing them tablet computers to see how they are doing via the screen. Child consultation centers should give top priority to protecting children's lives by, for example, temporarily putting them into protective custody without hesitation if necessary.
What support should be provided to parents who are not sure about how to treat their children? It is important for public health workers and other professionals to remain in contact with families expecting children and give advice to them from their prenatal days onward.
Cooperation with private organizations -- such as those that have resumed operating kodomo shokudo cafeterias that provide free or cheap meals to local children -- is also surely effective. It is hoped that entities that deal with children work together to beef up functions to keep an eye on youngsters in this time of emergency.
In many cases of child abuse, other forms of domestic violence can also be found.
Cases of violence against spouses and children have been reported amid stress caused by stay-at-home requests and anxiety over economic hardships. Child consultation centers are urged to promote information-sharing with institutions that support victims of domestic violence so as not to overlook undetected cases of abuse.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on July 31, 2020.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
