Abstract

Book Review â??Background Understanding of Child Abuseâ?? (Malay Version)

Author(s): Iqbal U

 Written by Khadijah Alavi and Ann Wan Seng, this book contains the complete background of cases of abuse and neglect of children in Malaysia. This is due to cases of abuse and neglect of children increased dramatically and it became one of the very worrying social problems. The book includes studies that have been made regarding cases of abuse, including physical, emotional, sexual and neglect of children whose interaction model of child abuse used as a frame of the study. Also included in this book is a causal factor of abuse such as socioeconomic status, marital relations were cracked, cultural norms and behavioral factors other than the abuser’s own personality. Abuse and neglect of children increased dramatically these days and it’s one of the very worrying social problems of society and government. The incidence of abuse and neglect of children in Malaysia need to be studied and researched. The basic objective of this study was to examine four categories of abuse was physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect of children and to identify factors that lead to abuse. The uniqueness of this study is that it is conducted in the pediatric ward of the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur for one year, namely January to December 1994. Children under 13 years are admitted to the pediatric ward as sample. The length of time the victim lived in the ward is two days or more depending on the seriousness of the case. This study is quite different from previous studies because it uses anthropological approach. Model interaction of child abuse used as a frame of the study. This is because it is an approach that encompasses all factors as a whole to study the problem of abuse and neglect of children. External and internal factors such as socioeconomic status of the family system, marital rift parents, actors personality, social networks, cultural norms and behavioral factors are also considered victims in analyzing cases of abuse and neglect of children. Personality actors and the lack of interaction in the family system were found to be the underlying factors that lead to child abuse. However, no one single factor is the main cause in cases of abuse and neglect of children. All the factors mentioned above are interconnected so that they form a social problem that is complicated and complex to be diagnosed, whether this incident was an accident, illness or injury inflicted. What is even more distressing abuse of children has reached a critical level where people have lost a sense of humanity and concern in providing education to children who are still toddle in life. Children born in a state of pure and the one who shaping the children into good or evil is the guardian. Children are like a piece of white cloth and are the responsibility of parents to make sure it is not contaminated. It is the responsibility of all to protect them from negative elements that were attacking contemporary society. Found to be 2 to 15 cases of abuse are reported every week in Malaysia. These figures show how serious the problem of child abuse in Malaysia. Since 1990 the number of cases reported to the authorities increased between 10-15 percent per annum. During 1985 to 1992 a total of 935 cases of child abuse have been referred to the police and this number continues to rise until it reaches into the thousands. It should be noted this number does not include cases that have not been reported or referred to the authorities. It is estimated that this number will continue to increase over time. Over a period of eight years, namely 1985 to 1992, a total of 47 children who are abused have died after suffering severe injuries and had to endure throughout his life. Statistics released by the Social Welfare Department showed an increase of 27 per cent of cases in the whole country except for Sabah and Sarawak. In 1992, a total of 852 cases were reported and this number continues to increase to 1084 cases in 1993. In the past five years, from 1989 to 1993 a total of 3693 cases were reported. The figures show this is far more than a decade ago where in 1981 the number of cases reported in Peninsular Malaysia only amounted to 93 cases. This figure is then increased to 970 cases 10 years later. It shows over the last decade the number of cases increased by 877 cases. The number of cases of child abuse is higher in the Federal Territory and Selangor due to the density of population which largely comes from rural areas. Pressure and high cost of living in the Klang Valley area causing many social problems such as living conditions uncomfortable, placement and traffic congestion, crime and so on.