Schools refer 370 cases of child abuse since 2000

A total of 370 referrals of cases of child abuse were made by schools between January 30, 2000, and July 4, 2002, the Ministry of Education said yesterday.

Other agencies or units referred a total of 95, the ministry said.

Schools and agencies also made 47 requests connected with child abuse training or prevention.

Giving a breakdown, the ministry said the cases involved 273 girls and 192 boys.

The type of abuse reported was: sexual, 173; physical, 127; neglect, 103, emotional, 36; emotional/neglect, three; emotional/physical, four; emotional/sexual, two; physical/ neglect, six; physical/sexual, nine; neglect/physical/sexual, one; and emotional/neglect/physical/sexual, one.

Giving a breakdown of the schools making the referrals, the ministry said 31 were from the Junior Lyceums, 87 from area secondary schools, 45 from girls/boys centres, 206 from primary schools, 15 from post-secondary schools, six from special schools, 21 from Church primary schools, 22 from Church secondary schools, three from independent primary schools, and one each from an independent secondary school and a private kindergarten.

Last January, the minister set up a Child Safety Services unit to offer services to children who have suffered child abuse.

The unit offers counselling to the children, as well as consultation to schools in cases of child abuse and inter-agency networking.

The ministry said that child abuse awareness, prevention and intervention was one of 46 in-service courses for teachers which ended yesterday.

The course aimed at giving a clear definition of child abuse, its prevalence both in the local and international scene and other relevant information regarding the issue.

The fundamental aim of the course was to equip the primary school teacher with appropriate and effective skills when dealing with issues of child abuse.

Over 1,700 teachers completed the in-service courses.

This year the budget for teacher training is Lm300,000.

A large part of the courses have focused on the changes in the syllabuses made to reflect the principles, aims and objectives of the new national curriculum.

Other courses focused on new policies (such as the newly issued code of discipline and the child abuse policy), creativity (such as the Edward De Bono Thinking Course, Dynamic Art, Physical Education) and science and technology.