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From: The Star, 23 July 2003
By Shaila Koshy
Members of the immediate family (parents, step-parents, siblings and relatives) made up over 71% of child abusers from 2000 until 2002.
In 2002 abusers who were complete strangers totalled 15.78% while caregivers, neighbours, employers, teachers, parents' lovers and family friends added up to 10.86%.
Neglect and physical and sexual abuse were the three most common forms of abuse in 2000-2002 at an average of 83% while the least common form of abuse was emotional or psychological.
While physical and sexual abuse cases fell from 362 to 287 and from 258 to 251 respectively between 2000 and 2001, cases of neglect jumped from 183 in 2000 to 303 in 2001 and 357 in 2002.
The ratio of male to female children who were sexually abused was one to 10 in 2000, one to nine in 2001 and one to 14 in 2002.
However, more male children were neglected and physically abused but the difference was not much.
"From our data, we have seen that during the economic downturn, there was a lot more of violence in the family; husbands bashing their wives and children getting assaulted," said minister Datuk Dr Siti Zaharah Sulaiman in an interview.
"With factories closing down and people losing jobs, there is increased stress."
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