Number of child protection officers grossly inadequate, says Rina

 

Rina Harun urged teachers to pay closer attention to their students for bruises and injuries caused by abuse.

PETALING JAYA: The number of child protection officers under the social welfare department is grossly inadequate and needs to be increased immediately, women, family and community development minister Rina Harun said.

She said the current ratio of one officer to handle 50 to 100 cases of child abuse and neglect was insufficient, Bernama reported.

“The ministry’s target is one officer for 30 to 35 cases nationwide,” she said today after visiting two children at the Ampang Hospital suspected of being abused by their aunt and uncle.

Rina said the conditions of the two children were improving and they looked happy.

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She said the role of child protection officers in rescuing and guaranteeing the well-being of victims of abuse needed to be strengthened, considering that such cases were now becoming more complex.

She added that these officers were also required to prepare reports for use by the courts to determine where the children were to be placed and who should be their guardians pending the settlement of the cases.

The two children, aged eight and six, were reported to have been rescued two days ago by the Selangor fire and rescue department, when one of them attempted to escape through a window on the fourth floor of a building.

She expressed her gratitude to those who made the complaint about the child’s attempt to jump from a condominium unit, which eventually revealed the abuse they had suffered.

“I would also like to ask teachers to pay closer attention to their students. If there are bruises and other injuries on their students, they should investigate and take further action,” she added.

Recently, child rights activists called for improvements in the training of social welfare officers handling child abuse cases following concerns over the under-reporting of incidents.

They told FMT that having properly trained personnel would result in cases being investigated, handled and reported more “appropriately”.

Yayasan Salam CEO Ananti Rajasingam said there had been instances where welfare department officers let off abusers with a warning and that these offenders then relocated to escape detection. - FMT