A research group from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has compiled an analysis that estimates that the number of sexual abuse victims of children in the home is 1.2 times the number announced by the child guidance center.
In fiscal 2019, the number of cases in which children under the age of 18 were abused by their parents was more than 190,000, which was a record high.
Of these, about 2,600 cases of sexual abuse occurred in the home, 1.3% of the total number, and it is pointed out that the damage is latent.
For this reason, the research group of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare conducted a survey of child guidance centers and local governments nationwide last year, and received responses from 124 child guidance centers and 492 municipalities.
According to this, as a result of investigating 449 cases of sexual abuse grasped by the child guidance center, damage was caused after being consulted as "physical abuse" that was initially beaten or otherwise assaulted, or as a child delinquency problem. Eighty-three cases were revealed, accounting for 19%.
In many cases, this was statistically included in the initial consultation content and was not included in the number of sexual abuse cases.
As a result of detailed analysis by the research group, it is estimated that the damage caused by sexual abuse of children at home is 1.2 times the number announced by the child guidance center.
In addition, the damage was revealed in many cases where the child confided the damage to the counselor when he was separated from the abused guardian or when he was able to build a relationship of trust with the child. ..
As children who were abused became older, they tended to be reluctant to go home, but in the case of children aged 0 to 5, such signs tended to be unseen and the damage was damaged. It is said that it is more difficult to grasp.
Jiro Sakamoto of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Artificial Intelligence Research Center, who conducted the survey as a member of the research group, said, "It is thought that there are considerable damages of sexual abuse in the home that have not been clarified yet. In addition to an educational approach that allows you to correctly recognize that it is an act of infringing your rights and issue SOS when you are injured, the adults around you will detect the change in your child. It is important to acquire knowledge and improve the system in order to connect to appropriate support. "