Child abuse in Nghe An is at an alarming level.
(Baonghean) - Most of the subjects who commit acts of child abuse have a certain relationship with relatives or the abused children themselves. What is alarming in Nghe An is that child abuse cases are on the rise.
Many shocking cases
More than 5 months ago, the entire Nghi Phong Primary School (Nghi Loc District) was shaken by the story of a 2nd grader being raped by an 8th grader. The victim was Nguyen Thi NH, and the 8th grader was Pham Tuan T. (both living in Nghi Phong Commune). Immediately after the school reported the incident, Nghi Loc District Police began investigating and later concluded that the incident of T. raping H. was real.
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| H. at the time of treatment at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. Photo: PT |
Specifically, on the afternoon of April 22, 2019, T. went to Nghi Phong Secondary School to take extra classes. At around 2:00 p.m., T. did not go to class but went to the Nghi Phong Primary School campus and discovered H. alone. T. carried H. close to the wall, then took off H.'s clothes and had sex with her. When H. screamed, T. punched her in the face, kicked her, then carried her up to the high wall and pushed her to the ground. When H. pretended to faint, T. covered her with grass and left.
According to the 2015 Penal Code, T. is not old enough to be held criminally responsible, so the Nghi Loc District Police Department decided not to prosecute the criminal case.
However, T.'s behavior was very dangerous, showing signs of a particularly serious crime, so the police decided to administratively handle T. by sending him to a reform school.
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| Two subjects Tran Minh Giao and Nguyen Dinh Tu were arrested for sexually abusing children. Photo: Archive |
Another shocking case also took place at the end of 2018, Hoang Mai Town Police discovered that a number of subjects had sexually abused Nguyen Thi B. (born 2004, residing in Hoang Mai Town).
Hoang Mai Town Police established a special case and then prosecuted and temporarily detained 7 defendants including: Hoang Dinh Lam (born in 1972), Van Sy Ha (born in 1964), both residing in Quynh Thien Ward, Hoang Mai Town, for the crime of having sexual intercourse with a person aged from 13 to under 16 years old; Dau The Duc (born in 1992), Nguyen Ba Doai (born in 1969), Dau Duc Toan (born in 1965); Ho Van Doc (born in 1965) and Hoang Dinh Sy (born in 1988), all residing in Hoang Mai Town) for the crime of "Obscenity with a person under 16 years old". With 7 defendants prosecuted, this can be considered the child molestation case with the most defendants in Nghe An to date.
In fact, children are not only sexually abused but also abused in many other forms such as violence, trafficking, and other basic rights... Child abuse cases are increasingly dangerous, with some cases of children being abused at a very young age.
Incomplete awareness
A number that makes many people think, from 2015 to June 2019, there were 114 children in Nghe An who were abused, including 108 girls and 6 boys. The most common form of abuse was sexual abuse with 82 children, followed by trafficking with 26 children.
More painfully, 4 children died due to abuse, 9 became pregnant due to sexual abuse and 6 had to drop out of school. That is not to mention 91 other cases that were physically and mentally affected by abuse.
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| Cut Thi Huong (born in 1985) and Cut Van Thoai (born in 1981), both residing in Chieu Luu commune, were sentenced to 16 years in prison for child trafficking. Photo: Archive |
Many girls are sexually abused, leading to unwanted pregnancies when their bodies are not fully developed. This can lead to infertility, directly affecting their reproductive health and family happiness later on.
“Regardless of the form of sexual abuse, children will suffer consequences and be traumatized to varying degrees. Physically, abused children may suffer physical injuries and contract sexually transmitted diseases; psychologically, abused children will feel guilty and afraid of being considered evil,” said the leader of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, adding that if they do not receive timely psychological treatment after being abused, they can easily suffer long-term trauma.
In addition, abused children can become depressed and mentally disturbed. Many child abuse cases have created panic, anxiety, and frustration among the people, negatively affecting traditional values, morality, and human personality.
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| Ky Son District Police coordinated with local authorities to propagate and sign commitments with people about not buying and selling fetuses. Photo: Archive |
Through the cases investigated, the Provincial Police believe that most of the subjects who commit acts of child abuse have certain relationships with relatives or the abused children themselves. The methods and tricks of abuse are very diverse, but mainly the subjects take advantage of the relationship with children or the children's relatives to find ways to approach and commit acts of abuse against children, especially cases of sexual abuse and child trafficking.
Once approached, the subjects use all means, taking advantage of their trust or influence or enticing children such as giving them money, allowing them to use the phone, inviting them to go out, giving them food..., threatening them to commit acts of abuse.
Currently, there are more than 800,000 children in the province, of which nearly 14,000 are in special circumstances and nearly 75,000 are at risk of falling into special circumstances. These are the groups most at risk of abuse and need more protection. However, the People's Committee of Nghe An province also assessed that people's awareness of child protection in general and the prevention of violence, abuse and trafficking of children in particular is not adequate and profound.
Some families lack knowledge and skills in child protection, and their understanding of the law and the prevention of violence and child abuse is limited. Furthermore, the coordination between families, schools, and local organizations and authorities in managing and caring for children in some places is not close and effective.
"Through the practice of fighting against child sexual abuse crimes, it is seen that there are many contents in the Penal Code and the Code of Procedure that need to be supplemented to better prevent and combat child abuse. Specifically, it is necessary to add "Crime of sexual harassment"; There should be specific regulations on lewd acts as a basis for prosecuting lewd acts against people under 16 years old; there should be a mechanism to recognize the results of forensic examinations in cases of sexual abuse at the request of the victim's family in cases where the investigation and trial agencies have not yet conducted timely consultations. At the same time, it is necessary to supplement the Laws on the prohibition of buying and selling fetuses to have a basis for criminal handling of this act".