'Enough homes for abused children'PETALING JAYA: The Welfare Services Department (JKM) has enough shelter homes for abused children, says its public relations officer Nurul Insyirah Mohd Ishak.
She was commenting on an incident on July 15 when a JKM staff in Subang told a family that their shelters for abused children are all full.
"It is the department's responsibility to accept children at any time. We have enough homes for abused children," Nurul told The Malay Mail.
"We urge the family to file an official complaint for us to investigate further."
Nurul said not all abused children are placed in shelter homes.
"In some cases, the abused children may be better off staying with a relative or another family member," she said, adding that some abused or neglected children are temporarily placed at shelter homes while awaiting a court order in appointing a guardian.
"In urgent cases, we quickly take the child away from the abuser while providing the necessary protection and medical care."
Nurul said children who need protection are also placed in private shelter homes run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) registered with JKM.
"Currently, there are 1,240 children under the protective custody at 11 shelter homes around the country," she said.
"The number of child abuse and neglected reports has increased, from 1,197 cases in 2008, more than doubling to 2,789 in 2009, and 2,960 last year."
Nurul said to combat the increasing number of child abuse and neglect cases, JKM launched Talian Nur 15999 to encourage public tip-offs.
"We investigate each tip-off and take the appropriate action, including temporarily placing an endangered child in a shelter home," she said, adding that JKM has also established a child protection team.
"We also have a Kami Prihatin programme to create greater public awareness on being pro-active on child abuse and neglect."
No comments:
Post a Comment