A child is neglected when his basic needs for food, shelter or guidance are no met. Neglect usually involves a lack of supervision, like when the kids play truant and their parents don't care. They lose out to their peers by not going to school and this affects their well-being in the long run.
Last year, Ministry of Social and Family Development began using two social service agencies to help with less serious cases of child abuse, such as those involving neglect or inappropriate discipline like excessive caning. Besides Big Love Child Protection Specialist Centre, Fei Yue Family Service Centre is the only child protection specialist centre. The ministry still manages the more serious cases.
Social workers said that having two specialist centres to work on these cases meant more resources and manpower to protect children, and hopefully, fewer cases would fall through the cracks. Mr Alfred Tan, executive director of the Singapore Children's Society, said people may be more willing to work with a charity to report and stop the abuse, than go directly to the authorities.
The latest data on the ministry's website showed that it investigated 247 cases of child abuse in 2012, up from 176 in 2008. Most involved either physical or sexual abuse.
At Big Love, eight in 10 alleged perpetrators are the children's birth parents. The rest are step-parents, the parents' partners and other relatives. Most are from poor families, almost half are single-parent homes, and many face financial, marital and other problems.
For the cases Big Love handles, the parents are usually not taken to court unless they continue abusing their children. Instead, social workers work with parents to identify and deal with the problems or stresses that might have led to the abuse. This often means counselling and teaching them various skills, including anger management and good parenting. The children are also counselled and given the help that they need.
Thoughts anyone?
Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big
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