Number of child abuse cases rises 34% in 2006
 

Thursday, February 15, 2007

TOKYO — The number of suspected child abuse cases rose 34% in 2006 from the previous year to 297 and that of victims in those cases rose 38% to 316, both record highs, the National Police Agency said Thursday.

The number of people police identified as abusers also hit a record high, of 329, up 36% from the previous year, according to the count that covered cases of the abuse of children under the age of 18. Mothers formed the largest portion of perpetrators, accounting for 29%, followed by the victims' fathers, adopted fathers and men who live with the victims' mother. Of the victims, 59 died of abuse, compared to 16 in the previous year.

that's just wrong.. what are the measures being taken to prevent this?

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The actual rates have not gone up at all. In fact, they`ve been dropping drastically in recent years.

The only thing that has changed are the laws, and people`s attitudes toward other`s parenting. Of course it`s going to look like it has increased if there is suddenly a new law which changes the definition of "abuse", and at the same time more efforts to find and charge abusers.

It`s this kind of alarmist reporting that seriously irritates me. The rate of abuse hasn`t gone up at all, they`ve just gotten much better at finding and reporting the cases which do exist.

me too.. i mean, its the 21st century for cryin' out loud! -.-"

whr did u get this piece of news from kitski?

Nyororin said it best :

Actually, from the article :

Abuse is wrong in any way, shape or form whether it is verbal, physical or psychological. I am not trying to make light of the seriousness of abuse, but I want to share a little comment my friend made about Japanese and hitting.

It was said that, to some Japanese hitting is like an on and off switch. A smack in the forehead means "shut up stupid" while a smack in the back of the head means "do something you idiot."