It is reported in a local newspaper that child abuse continuous to be a social problem despite efforts by various authorities to create a caring society. It claims that in most cases, the natural parents are the main culprits. Statistics from the Social Welfare Department in my country, Malaysia indicate that cases involving the natural mother totaled 224 and natural father 215. There were only 45 cases involving stepmothers and 38 involving stepfathers. There were also cases involving relatives, servants, neighbors and teachers.
What is more distressing is that cases involving the victim’s natural parents are on the increase. Quarrels between parents may cause one or both of them to vent their anger or tension on their helpless children. A spokesman from the Social Welfare Department revealed that in 2008, there were 297 cases stemming from family quarrels and 120 from stress faced by the parents.
As local consultant psychiatrist agreed that quarrels between parents could cause tension and depression. He said that when parents could not withstand the stress, they invariably reacted in various ways without any rationale. One example was beating their children or torturing them by not allowing them to take their meals. The spokesman added that the situation could be worse if the abusers themselves had been subjected to various forms of punishment when they were young.
