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Child Abuse Reporting Weak in Asia-PacificSystematic and comprehensive reporting of child abuse is needed in the Asia-Pacific region, where domestic violence is "pervasive," said a U.N. expert on child abuse yesterday. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro warned during a trip to Bangkok that only two nations in the region have mandatory reporting of child abuse - Malaysia and the Philippines. In the Philippines, hospitals and other health care facilities and doctors are compelled to report cases of abuse and in Malaysia, medical personnel and caregivers are obliged to report suspected infractions. According to a 2001 UNICEF study, 23 per cent of children in the Asia-Pacific region said "my parents beat me when I do something wrong," and 29 per cent reported physical abuse by their family. The regional study is part of a global assessment on children and violence which will be presented to the U.N. General Assembly in 2006. For more information about the UN Study on Violence Against Children, visit: www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/study.htm. |