Top 10 of 2016 Worst Child Abused News in Taiwan
“There is an incredible secret in our family." said three sisters. You will never guess what happened to them. Their biological father has been convicted of 306 sex offences against children and three sisters have been sexually abused by their father over 8 years. Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a universal problem with grave life-long outcomes.
After collecting 156 child abuse-related cases across Taiwan from January through October 2016, Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) announced the top 10 of 2016 worst child abused news and listed disturbing instances of mistreatment of children in Taiwan. The list drew attention to a number of gruesome child abuse cases and found that 33 percent of news stories were child sexual abuse cases and 47.1 percent of the perpetrators were family members to the victim. The top one ranked case was 4-year-old girl beheaded in Taipei random attack. Newly our President Tsai Ing-wen wants the country to tackle these crimes through education and the economy while improving help for mental health issues
Table1: The list of top 10 of 2016 worst child abused news in Taiwan as below.
Rank |
Headline |
Date |
1 |
4-year-old girl beheaded in Taipei random attack |
2016.03.29 |
2 |
Long-handled cleaning brush killed 4-year-old boy by the father's cohabitant |
2016.02.17 |
3 |
The mother's cohabitant killer beat 5-year-old boy to death |
2016.06.26 |
4 |
4-year-old girl and 10-month-old baby were killed and disposed by their father |
2016.08.18 |
5 |
11 year-old boy killed in shelter by a nursery-governess |
2016.10.11 |
6 |
Woman killed two children and herself in charcoal-burning murder-suicide |
2016.09.01 |
7 |
12-year-old girl was knifed in the neck and her mother's ex-boyfriend was under suspicion |
2016.04.01 |
8 |
30 year-old woman suffocated her two sons and killed herself |
2016.05.05 |
9 |
Silent no more! Confessed to public his childhood sexual trauma |
2016.05.11 |
10 |
5th grade girl and her young sister have been sexually abused by father over 4 years |
2016.01.24 |
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), it indicated that 5,649 children were treated improperly in the first half of 2016. Furthermore, there were 31 abused children increasing daily and near a quarter of children suffering abused under age six (24.57%). In the first half of 2016, the number of child deaths was as high as 75 which was far exceeding the number of children who died in previous years.
Table2: Children killed by abuse or neglect over the past five years in Taiwan
Year |
Number of deaths |
Percentage |
2012 |
65 |
0.30% |
2013 |
48 |
0.27% |
2014 |
59 |
0.47% |
2015 |
68 |
0.67% |
2016 First-Half |
75 |
1.33% |
* Data released by the Department of Statistics of the MOHW
The increase of the child abused cases and deaths highlighted the high risk of the children under age six. The government and child welfare agencies should strengthen support and care mechanisms across high-risk families in order to prevent from the incidence and prevalence of child abuse.
“It is regrettable that the tragedy of random beheading hit Taipei city and it has been the most shocking news in a long time.” said TFCF CEO, Ms. Betty Ho. She urged the public to be aware and observe any odd behaviors or abnormalities in children and youths. Do not hesitate to give a helping hand whenever any child abused found. Everyone is expected to report every instance of suspected child abuse or neglect immediately. We all have the responsibility to establish a comprehensive network of child protection to keep children safe from any violence.
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