"Mom and Dad, Please Don't Punish Me" Can We Prevent Leniency for Parents of Abused Children?

Repeated Child Abuse Cases... Punishments Are Lenient
Experts "Specialized Personnel Understanding the Specifics of Child Abuse Must Be Assigned"

The stepmother who confined her stepson A (9) in a travel bag, causing cardiac arrest, is seen entering the Cheonan branch of Daejeon District Court for a warrant hearing on the 3rd of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern Yeonju Kim] Children who have suffered horrific abuse often do not want their abusive parents to be punished or ask for leniency, resulting in lighter punishments for the perpetrators. This has led to calls for systemic improvements.

Although the abuser is cruel, they are also the parent, which makes it difficult for strict legal punishment to be properly demanded. Experts emphasize that specialized personnel who understand the sensitivity and uniqueness of child abuse cases should be assigned to immediately separate the abused children from the perpetrators.

According to the Supreme Court, 267 cases were filed nationwide last year for violations of the Child Abuse Punishment Act. Among these, 33 cases (12%) resulted in imprisonment, 96 cases (36%) received suspended sentences, and the rest were fined.

One of the reasons why punishments for child abuse remain lenient is the leniency requested by the abused children themselves.

Recently, a woman in her 30s, Ms. A, who abused her 11-year-old daughter by tearing up a notebook and stuffing it into her mouth because the daughter was not doing her homework well, was given a suspended sentence.

The Jeju District Court Criminal Division 3 (Presiding Judge Junseok Park) announced on the 29th that 39-year-old Ms. A was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year suspension for violating the Child Welfare Act and other charges.

Ms. A reportedly abused her daughter, Ms. B, five times from September 2018 to March this year. The abuse was triggered by Ms. B not doing her homework well and coming home late. However, despite the continuous abuse, the victim expressed a wish for leniency, and the court considered that the victim did not want punishment and thus handed down a suspended sentence.

In another child abuse case, the victim also pleaded for leniency for her mother, who was both the perpetrator and parent. In May last year in Gwangju, a woman in her 40s who was tried for abusing her daughter for several years received a suspended sentence due to the child's plea for leniency.

The court stated, "The abuse was repeated and involved dangerous objects," but "considered the perpetrator's admission of wrongdoing and the victim's plea for leniency" as reasons for the sentencing.

Photo by Yonhap News

In such situations, there are cases where the abused child returns to the home where the incident occurred. This exposes them to the possibility of meeting the abuser again and, more importantly, forces them back to the scene of the incident, effectively causing secondary harm.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the Central Child Protection Agency, among 24,604 abuse cases reported in 2018, 82% (20,164 cases) of the abused children returned to the abusive home. Only 13.4% (3,276 cases) were separated from their families by being admitted to shelters where they could receive counseling, treatment, and education.

Recent child abuse cases in Cheonan, Chungnam, and Changnyeong, Gyeongnam, came to light only after the abused children either died or risked their lives to escape and seek rescue.

In Cheonan, Chungnam, a 9-year-old boy, C, died after being trapped in a travel bag for over seven hours. It was reported that on the 1st at 7:25 p.m., the child was found dead inside a travel bag at his home in Seobuk-gu, Cheonan.

Police investigations revealed that C had been continuously abused by his stepmother (43). Before his death, on the 5th of last month, C had suffered a head injury and received hospital treatment. Medical staff suspected child abuse based on the injuries and reported it to the police.

However, since C did not express a desire to live apart from his biological father, no separation measures were taken.

The case of a 9-year-old girl, D, in Changnyeong, who was brutally abused, was also a household where abuse signs were detected. The household was designated as a "crisis household" with potential abuse in January. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on-site investigations were difficult, and the abuse was effectively left unaddressed.

Experts have raised their voices, stating that immediate separation of victims and perpetrators and a complete overhaul of investigation practices are necessary when handling child abuse cases.

Gong Hyejeong, president of the Korea Child Abuse Prevention Association, said, "Even if the abuser is a parent, abused children hope for leniency or say they want to return home because they think home is the only place to go. The problem is that authorities simply listen to the child saying they want to live at home and send them back without question."

President Gong suggested, "The protection programs of child protection agencies must be completely improved. Specialized personnel who understand the unique nature of child abuse cases should be assigned. Experienced counselors must be deployed, and thorough management and supervision of child protection agencies must precede."

Meanwhile, the government announced plans to directly meet 25,000 children, including those with long-term school absences, over three months to detect 'children at risk of abuse' early. Additionally, special inspections will be conducted for 8,500 children who have been reported for child abuse to prevent re-abuse.

The MOHW announced on the 24th that it will begin focused inspections from the 1st of next month to proactively identify children at risk of abuse.

Ko Deukyoung, Director of Population and Child Policy at MOHW, said, "We will use this inspection to confirm whether the system for identifying at-risk children is functioning properly. Please pay attention to children who may be abused around you and actively report to the police if you find any."

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