Lack of budget, workforce hinder child abuse fight

With the tragic death of a 7-year-old boy from long-term abuse by his parents revealed last week, the government has laid out additional measures to prevent child abuse.

But concerns are growing over the efficacy of the measures, with activists taking issue with shortage of financial, human resources in the field and authorities’ lack of will to implement the policies.

Police on Monday launched a probe into suspected child abuse cases by reviewing the cases of 809 infants aged from 4 to 6 years old who have no record of receiving medical checkups or vaccination at hospitals.

Upon the review, police officers specializing in child abuse and government officers from community centers will visit the homes of children suspected of suffering from abuse for on-site inspections.

The Education Ministry also announced it would make it possible for school principals to look into children’s personal information, such as home addresses and their contact points, through a local community center’s computer network.

The ministry had rolled out a manual last month that mandated schools report to police whenever a student is absent for more than three days straight or does not enroll in school in time. It considers expanding the manual to include preschoolers.

The Welfare Ministry vowed to closely monitor parents who do not apply for day care subsidies from the government. It mapped out a plan to build a local network with community centers, municipal organizations and schools to watch out for children who might be subject to child abuse.

The measures came in light of a series of gruesome abuse cases and deaths of children at the hands of their parents this year, the latest being Shin Won-young.

Shin, who had allegedly been locked up and beaten for three months by his stepmother before his death in February could have been saved if there were comprehensive and legal systems to act on the suspected abuse, observers have noted.

“When one of our counsellors learned about Shin’s case, there were no legal grounds to force entry into his home to separate the boy from his parents,” a counsellor from the National Child Protection Agency told The Korea Herald.

A staff at the local child protection agency detected physical abuse on the boy’s body and reported the case in 2013. But the agency had to close the case in 2015 as Shin’s parents refused questioning, citing that it was a “family matter.”

At the time, the special act for children was not in place. The act, which took effect in September 2014, grants greater authority to child welfare activists to inspect suspected cases without parents’ consent. Police are required to accompany counsellors for on-site inspections.

But even with the act in place, a lack of budget and child welfare counsellors makes it difficult to conduct the policies, activists said.

“Child protection agencies are too short-staffed. The special law for children came into force, but implementation is difficult due to lack of counsellors, budget and infrastructure,” said the counsellor from the NCPA. 

The number of child protection agencies stood at 56 as of 2014, with all the facilities being run by private child advocacy organizations. The number of staff members was 522 and the number of shelters for children was 46. Each shelter can house just seven children. A counsellor roughly covers 17,000 children aged up to 17, according to a report by the NCPA.

The budget offered by the state decreased from 25.2 billion won ($21.2 million) to 18.5 billion won this year.

Kim Hee-kyung, head of advocacy and program at international non-governmental group Save the Children, lashed out at the government for releasing same policies without implementing them whenever child abuse cases come to light.

“The set of policies unveiled by the government are a collection of failed policies that have not been carried out,” Kim told the Korea Herald, referring to the “child abuse prevention plan” by the government in February 2014.

The polices released in 2014 include plans such as monitoring long-term absentees from schools and making home visits for parents who do not take their children to hospitals for vaccinations, to more effectively prevent child abuse.

“I cannot trust the government anymore. I feel that the authorities are busy rolling out policies in the face of the public outrage, but it might again pay less attention to the issue as time goes by,” she said. “The government should take responsibility for preventing child abuses, not a handful of child rights organizations.”

“As ministries pass on the responsibility of coping with child abuses to each other, I think it would be better if there were a control tower encompassing all relevant ministries under the Prime Minister’s Office,” she said. “There needs to be a fundamental change in the structure of overseeing and tackling child abuses.”

Currently, all child protection facilities are run by child advocacy groups, with the government providing them with budgets annually.

Lee Bong-joo, a social welfare professor from Seoul Nation University, suggested in a forum held earlier this month that the role of government and private sector should be divided.

“Child protection agencies should focus on providing advice and services. The police and municipalities should focus on detecting child abuse cases and conducting on-site inspections,” he said.

Another expert stressed the importance of parenting education.

“In the past when families were large, ways to raise children were naturally passed on to the next generation, but as families get smaller, parents have less chances to learn about parenting skills,” said Lee Bae-young, an education professor at Sungsan Hyo University and president of Good Parents Association.

“Abusive parents tend to have difficulties in managing anger and feelings without being aware of what they do,” he told The Korea Herald. “But it can be improved through continued education and counselling. The government and municipalities should consider making it mandatory for all parents in the country to receive such parenting education."

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)