Children Trapped by COVID-19, Unable to Detect Domestic Abuse at Home

77% of Child Abuse Perpetrators Are Parents... Most Abuse Occurs at Home
Teachers, Local Governments, Medical Institutions Play Key Role as 'External Reporters'
Suspected Abuse Reports by Teachers Down 73% Since COVID-19 Compared to Previous Year

A (9), an elementary school student in Changnyeong, Gyeongnam, who is known to have been abused by her stepfather and biological mother, is seen talking with the first reporter (left) at a convenience store in Changnyeong on the 29th of last month. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Lim Joo-hyung] Amid a series of recent child abuse cases, concerns are growing that the blind spots in management are increasing due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

There are criticisms that home visits, which require face-to-face interaction, are being avoided, making it difficult to properly identify children who are being abused. The same applies to online classes where students cannot be directly seen and checked. Experts have suggested establishing a prevention system that can detect signs of child abuse in advance.

A (9-year-old) girl, a victim of child abuse in Changnyeong, was found and reported to the police by two neighboring residents who escaped from her home on the afternoon of the 29th of last month. It was confirmed that since 2018, A had been continuously abused by her parents, including having her fingers burned with a frying pan.

A’s family has been registered as a crisis household in the 'Happiness e-um' system operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare since last year. This system analyzes about 40 pieces of information such as school attendance to identify suspected abuse households and notifies local governments as part of a child abuse prevention framework.

However, it was confirmed that Changnyeong County did not conduct an on-site investigation of A’s family recently after receiving a request from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to refrain from visits due to the COVID-19 situation.

Meanwhile, B (9-year-old) boy, who was found in cardiac arrest trapped inside a travel bag in a house in Seobuk-gu, Cheonan City, Chungnam Province on the afternoon of the 1st and died two days later, was confirmed to have attended school online classes while trapped inside the bag.

The online class platform only confirms attendance but does not show the time of attendance, and since schools check students’ health through text messages and phone calls with each household, it is difficult to accurately grasp signs of abuse. On the day of the incident, B’s stepmother responded “good” to a non-face-to-face question from school staff about B’s health condition.

Such blind spots in management where related protection and prevention systems do not function properly despite abuse are being discovered. In particular, concerns have been raised that children have become more vulnerable to abuse as it has become difficult for external parties such as school staff and local governments to visit homes face-to-face since the outbreak of COVID-19.

The stepmother who confined her stepson in a travel bag, causing him to suffer cardiac arrest, is entering the Cheonan branch of Daejeon District Court on the 3rd for a warrant hearing. / Photo by Yonhap News

According to the Child Rights Protection Agency, the number of child abuse reports received in the first quarter of this year (January to March) was 6,887, down 449 from 7,336 in the same period last year. However, the agency explained that this figure does not reflect an actual decrease in child abuse cases but rather a significant drop in suspected child abuse reports.

In fact, during the same period, the number of suspected child abuse reports by elementary, middle, and high school staff totaled 169, a 73.3% decrease compared to 632 last year. Reports from medical personnel and medical technicians also decreased from 75 last year to 57.

According to the '2018 Major Child Abuse Statistics' published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2018, 77% of child abuse perpetrators are parents, and 79% of abuse incidents occur at home. Given this situation, early detection and prevention of child abuse heavily rely on the roles of external reporters such as school staff, local governments, and medical institutions.

Child Abuse / Photo by Yonhap News

Due to COVID-19, with the postponement of school openings and the spread of remote learning and other non-face-to-face education methods, it has become difficult to directly monitor at-risk households from outside, making it harder for child abuse prevention systems to function effectively.

The government plans to review child abuse prevention systems such as the pre-identification system for at-risk children.

On the 12th, Yoo Eun-hye, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, held a Social Relations Ministers’ Meeting at the Government Sejong Complex and ordered a full investigation into the safety of three-year-old children being raised at home instead of attending educational facilities such as daycare centers and kindergartens. She also stated that recently reported child abuse cases will be re-examined and strict measures will be taken if abuse is found.

Experts advised establishing a prevention system that can detect signs of child abuse in advance.

Professor Kwak Geum-joo of the Department of Psychology at Seoul National University said, “Due to COVID-19, children are staying indoors longer, which means abused children are less exposed outside, and this is a major problem in child abuse currently. Just as health checkups are conducted annually, a mandatory mental health counseling system should be established to detect child abuse early.”

She added, “Since most child abuse perpetrators are parents, managing parents’ emotional states is also important. Establishing counseling systems for maternal mental health and to prevent 'parenting burnout' after childbirth could be one of the methods.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.