Child abuse

The current status of child abuse in Japan is on a worsening trend.

Current status

Current status of Abuse

As it stands, abuse committed by adults against children is on the rise. The percentage of children who have been abused is said to be just over 10% (several surveys have reported similar results). The increase in abuse in recent years is said to be due to increased stress caused by decreased opportunities to go outside due to the new coronavirus infection, but few people steal things simply because they are stressed out. So why do people abuse when they are stressed? It is because they do not understand the seriousness of the abuse. While stealing things is a crime and you can be arrested for it, simply abusing a child in the home or elsewhere is unlikely to be found as a crime. However, Japan officially banned parental abuse in 2004. Many perpetrators say, “It was just a form of discipline.” Then, Can they explain what discipline is?

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare defines discipline as follows.

The problem is that physical abuse, neglect, and emotional abuse do not fit into the definition of discipline and are considered in a vague definition of “education.”

Improvements

Child consultation center

Even if the definition of abuse and the difference between abuse and discipline are explained, it is unlikely that abuse will disappear. Considering that perpetrators are unlikely to notice and consult a child consultation center, the countermeasure is how many third parties can notice and notify child abuse. The term “notification” here refers to reporting child abuse to a child consultation center. In Japan, there are more than 200,000 reports of child abuse annually, of which more than 25,000, or 1 in 10 children are judged to require temporary protection (within 2 months), and of these, more than 10,000, or 1 in 20 children require protection in child welfare facilities or the foster parent system. Child consultation centers are obligated to provide support until the child is able to live independently and may even receive support until graduation from college. Notification of abuse, etc., can be made anonymously by a third party, so it is important for the child to proactively go to the child consultation center if they are known to be abused.

Children's own consultation

In some cases, the child himself/herself goes to the child consultation center as a revelation of abuse. In this case, it is of utmost importance to guarantee the child's rights. When a child is being abused by a parent, rather than informing the parent of the details to the Child Consultation Center, the Child Consultation Center aims to resolve the issue between the child and the Child Consultation Center. The Child Consultation Center has specialists called “child psychologists” who can assist in appropriately resolving any mental problems that the child may be having. Careful attention is required to see if there is anyone other than the family who can help, and if a continuous relationship can be maintained between the child and the family.

What can a child consultation center do for the child?

While the child is expected to make the best choices for the child, if the Child Consultation Center provides a lower standard of living than the child's current home, the child will remain in the home. Since consultation centers are mandated to consider solutions such as foster care, adoption, etc., and to provide the necessary support to enable the child to have a better life, the goal is to create a system where the child does not have to return to the abusive home or where the abuse in the home can be corrected with appropriate guidance.