Official figures on child sex abuse cases only the tip
of the iceberg?
SINGAPORE: This much is clear: The number of child sex
abuse cases reported in last year - particularly where a child is
abused at home by a family member - is on the decline.
The Ministry of Community Youth and Sports (MCYS) said 32
such cases were reported last year, down from the 45 in 2008.
The figures from MCYS, made available to MediaCorp, did not
indicate the number of boys and girls involved in the cases cited
last year. They also pertained only to cases where the child was
abused by a family member at home, said the ministry.
But a recent Singapore Children's Society report, quoting figures
provided by Ministry of Home Affairs, reported that an average of
240 cases of child sexual abuse were uncovered between 1999 and
2002. These included "intra-familial abuse cases" that are followed
up by MCYS.
Could this mean that official figures are only the tip of the
iceberg?
Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centre social worker Yun Xin Ting thinks
so.
"One thing that concerns me is that even though the numbers are
low, are we really giving these victims enough treatment to deal
with their trauma?" she said.
What is worrying about these victims is that without proper
counselling, they may begin to act up.
Take the case of 13-year-old Janet (not her real name): Molested by
her stepfather at night in her room, the secondary school student
tried to seek help when she lodged a report with the police. But
her mother accused her of lying to get attention.
Upset and betrayed, the girl ran away and fell into bad company.
She eventually returned home after her stepfather was arrested for
the abuse, a social worker told MediaCorp.
While she is now on the road to recovery, the journey was tough.
Janet told social workers that in order to deal with the pain, she
began having sex with boys.
She gave in many times to their advances but was said to be numb to
the experience, according to the social worker.
Like Janet, most victims in intra-familial sexual abuses cases face
shame and stigma and choose to deal with the problem in their own
ways, said Dr Carol Balhetchet, director of youth services at
Singapore Children's Society.
Being sexually active could be a coping mechanism, she added.
Previous studies have shown that it is not uncommon for some
victims to become highly sexualised.
According to a recent survey done by the DSC Clinic, the National
Healthcare Group, the National University of Singapore and the
Singapore General Hospital, 22.5 per cent of sexual active teenage
girls had a history of sexual abuse, compared to the 3 per cent of
non-sexually active girls.
"Some children do not reveal these problems and they end up getting
in and out of relationships or become sexually active as a way to
cope," said a social worker, who declined to be named. "Such an
attitude may make it easy for people to take advantage of
them".
Furthermore, not all victims have the comfort of a family to turn
to for support after their therapy sessions, and end up in homes
for troubled youths.
Ms Yun said there are also initiatives to ensure that at-risk
children are not neglected. For instance, MCYS launched a grant
last year to help find quality childcare staff.
The grant, available to some non-profit childcare operators, is
expected to reach about S$30 million a year in its fifth year and
is part of the Government's effort to enhance the quality,
accessibility and affordability of centre-based childcare.
The funding has also helped agencies work with schools to provide
for at-risk students, said Ms Yun.
Still, Janet's ordeal highlighted something which social workers
find worrying: Victims face "re-victimisation" - being forced to
re-live the ordeal through questioning by the authorities - when
they decide to confront their abuser.
Dr Balhetchet suggests an age-old approach to solving this
problem.
"Education is important ... law enforcers need to be sensitive to
such reports made and various layers of support to the child are
critical. I fear that unless this is done, more will be afraid to
come forward because they will think no one will believe them," she
said.
- TODAY/sc