As the effects of the spread of the new coronavirus have been prolonged, parents who are suffering from child abuse are receiving a series of consultations.

Mikio Matsubayashi, a psychological counselor who runs a counseling room in Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, has been counseling about 270 perpetrators of abuse and domestic violence for more than 10 years.



According to Mr. Matsubayashi, the number of new consultations last year increased by 60% from the previous year.



In particular, the number of women has tripled from the previous year.



Most of them are consultations from mothers who suffer from abuse of their children such as abuse and violence.



In counseling, you will learn how to calm yourself down by screaming "stop" in your heart when you feel stressed and angry after exhaling the pain you have had.

Mr. Matsubayashi said, "If the obstructive situation caused by the corona wreckage accumulates, it will overflow beyond the critical point, and in part, it will come out in the form of abuse. I feel that I really need a place for my mother to vomit and accept it because she doesn't have it. "

Mother driven in isolation

A woman in her thirties who is counseled by Mr. Matsubayashi has a three-year-old child.



However, since my husband left home with his child last winter, he is now living away.



Before the spread of the infection, women took their children to the "Child-rearing Support Center" operated by the local government on a daily basis to let their children play with playsets and ask the staff about their concerns about child-rearing.



However, due to the state of emergency last spring, the child-rearing support center was closed and consultations were no longer possible.



After that, the use of the center was resumed, but due to the limited time available, I gradually moved away and started to stay at home.

It is said that it has become painful and troublesome to keep thinking about how to play with children from morning till night.



At that time, when she was just two years old, the unpleasant period began, and she couldn't control her anger because she threw toys and scattered them all over the room.



Even if I confessed my troubles to my husband, there was no one who could not understand and consult with the people around me.

The woman said, "I often yelled at my child instead of scolding him normally, or took him to the bedroom and threw it at a futon or blanket and locked him in the room."



Women are receiving counseling and are regaining their mental stability.



The woman said, "I think I've done something wrong with my child. I'm still not confident that I can live with him, but I want to tell him,'I can't be with you, but I like it.'"

NPO supported by home visit

In order to prevent the isolation of the family, efforts to support the mother by taking thorough measures and visiting the family are spreading even when the infection spreads.



The NPO "Kawagoe Child-rearing Network" in Saitama Prefecture is an activity called "Home Start" in which women who have experience in child-rearing visit their homes as volunteers to talk with their mothers and help with child-rearing and housework. It is working.



According to the NPO, since we started this initiative five years ago, the number of applications has continued to increase, and the number of uses in 2018 reached 71.



However, the number of infections spread ▼ 29 ​​cases last year and ▼ 11 cases as of August this year, which is a significant decrease.



While many families refrain from visiting due to anxiety about infection, they are also focusing on listening to each other online.

Mr. Tomoe Honda said, "I'm worried that some of the mothers we haven't met may have a hard time, and I think we shouldn't stop while taking thorough infection control measures. I'm working on it. I think it will be difficult to speak out if the child-rearing situation becomes serious, so please feel free to use it when you think it's a little difficult. "



* For information on groups working on "home start" all over the country, see https://www.homestartjapan.org/

Mother with NPO support

A mother in her thirties, supported by an NPO, raises three children, five, four, and one.



As the infection continued to spread, he was suffering from child-rearing pressure because he could not leave his children at his parents' home and could not rely on others.



In the "Home Start" initiative, we can receive support from volunteer women who have experience raising children.



The mother was assisted on the 23rd of last month and had a woman play with her children so that she could calmly prepare her lunch.



In addition, he confided to the woman the troubles he had while having a casual conversation.

A mother in her thirties said, "When I thought I couldn't rely on anyone, it was so painful that I felt refreshed and relieved when I heard a lot of stories. It doesn't have to be perfect. By noticing that, I feel that I have a little more time to spare and can treat the children kindly. "