Experts on child abuse have always known that recorded cases are simply the tip of the iceberg. Crimes that take place in the confines of the home are always difficult to identify; when children are the victims, the problem is even more acute. Many victims are too young to complain; others are too frightened, or, in the case of sexual abuse, too ashamed or too protective of the offender, to speak out.
The most worrying aspect of the latest statistics released by the Child Protection Registry and the group Against Child Abuse is not simply the increase in reported sex abuse cases. In a city of almost seven million people, the numbers are still small. But the age of some of the perpetrators is a cause for concern. In some cases, children under 14 years of age have been involved.
Social workers and psychologists say young offenders are often simply copying the behaviour of adults who mistreated them. There is little doubt that increased awareness of these crimes has thrown light on an age-old problem that was previously taboo - this is welcome. Yet there is a darker side to sexual openness, and that is that children get an early introduction to some of the starker facts of life. Even watchful parents, who scrupulously observe television deadlines for family viewing, cannot protect their children completely from exposure to undesirable material. Whether or not such exposure is a factor in the lower age of many sex offenders is a question for the experts.
However, the reasons for the increase in physical abuse are easier to establish. This is the greater problem here. Of 575 new cases on the Social Welfare Department register, 286 involve violence, 11 psychological abuse and 15 cases are of gross neglect. Perhaps this is expected in a city where the poverty gap is widening, where many families are split between the mainland and the SAR, and where thousands are forced to live in tiny flats, or even in one room, without space for play, or adults to enjoy peace or privacy.
Such a volatile mix can frequently lead to violence. Evidence suggests that the victims of abuse often turn abusers themselves as adults. The time to address the problem is while the caseload is comparatively small.
Penalties do, of course, exist for those who betray a child's trust and leave mental scars that last a lifetime. But often the law seems to take a lenient approach to offenders, as shown by this week's case of the teacher who abused his pupils, or an earlier case where a young father caused brain damage to his crying baby. But without full knowledge of the facts, it is unwise to criticise sentences. The focus must be on prevention. And if more resources can help cut down the figures, they should be provided.
