XN000022-1995-03-24 — Page 2

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Anti-child abuse publicity campaign launched

The first stage of an anti-child abuse publicity campaign, focusing on educating the general public on early detection and reporting of child abuse cases, was launched by the Director of Social Welfare, Mr Ian Strachan, today (Friday).

Speaking at a press conference to launch the publicity campaign, Mr Strachan said child abuse was a very complex problem and in the majority of cases, the abusers were usually persons who played an important part in the life of the child, such as the parents, relatives or other care providers.

"Children are close to them and dependent on them for physical care and emotional support. They are people whom children naturally trust and respect.

"Very often, children may not be aware that they are being abused, or even if they are aware of it, will find it difficult to speak up, fearing that they

may

be further punished or neglected.

"On the other hand, it is also difficult for the abusers, especially parents, to admit that a problem exists and seek professional help," Mr Strachan said.

In order to protect the vulnerable children and to prevent occurrence of child abuse, Mr Strachan said early identification and reporting of suspected and potential cases were essential.

"Awareness among the general public and multi- disciplinary professionals working with children are fundamental to prevent and contact child abuse.

"To achieve this aim, publicity and public education are crucial in disseminating the information, the messages and arousing awareness,” he said.

Mr Strachan said a Public Education Sub-committee under the Working Group on Child Abuse was set up in August last year to maximise publicity efforts and available resources.