2023-11-17 09:05:48
Illustrative photo, Canva
This coming Saturday, November 18, the Day Against Child Sexual Abuse, the Department of Social Insurance, together with its partners, calls for attention to the prevention of inappropriate sexual treatment of children, the department’s press service told BNS on Friday.
“Having a Day Against Sexual Abuse will help raise awareness of this issue and continue to fight the silence that still shrouds child sexual abuse, which is one of the most hidden types of crime. It is important that the child’s loved ones and professionals working with children know how to spot this, if they need to intervene and contact someone who can help the child,” says Merit Korbe, head of the Children’s Home service of the Social Insurance Board.
The Children’s Home of the Social Insurance Board is a comprehensive service for children who have been subjected to sexual abuse or risky sexual behavior. The service is provided in such a way that the affected child and family do not have to go to different institutions, but receive support and assistance in one place.
The importance of the work of Children’s Homes is evidenced by the number of requests, which is growing from year to year: in 2017 – 132; in 2018 – 241; in 2019 – 402; in 2020 – 428; in 2021 – 534; in 2022 – 631 and in the first ten months of 2023 – 605 requests.
The average age of children who received assistance at the Children’s Home in the first ten months of 2023 was 12 years. The majority were teenagers aged 14-17 years (229 calls or 38%). Among those receiving assistance were preschool children, who received 76 calls (13%), mostly on suspicion of sexual abuse within the family. During this period, there were 440 complaints related to girls (73%) and 163 complaints related to boys (27%).
The children’s home was mainly contacted with suspicions of inappropriate sexual treatment of a child (426 calls, 70%) and risky sexual behavior (106 calls, 18%). In other cases, it was either about suspicion of inappropriate physical treatment of a child, or about consultations with parents, specialists and adolescents on various topics related to sexual behavior.
According to Anna-Liisa Uysu, criminal policy adviser at the Ministry of Justice, violence against a child is usually committed by someone the child knows, such as a family member, neighbor or friend. “Although sometimes a child may not realize that they have been the victim of harassment or bullying, each such act leaves a lasting impact for many years. If your child is worried about something, reassure him and ask him to talk about what happened in his own words. Listen to him, praise him for what he said, and, most importantly, believe the child,” said Anna-Liisa Uysk.
Possibilities for getting help:
If the life or health of a child is in danger, call 112.
The Children’s Helpline of the Social Insurance Board is 116 111. You can also report a child in need of help using this number.
You can talk to a child helpline consultant on the website lasteabi.ee or by writing to [email protected].
The Social Insurance Board Children’s Home information line 5854 5498 is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 17:00. You can write to [email protected].
Sexual Assault Crisis Centers are open 24 hours a day in four major hospitals: Integrated Sexual Assault Services in Health Care Settings.
Online constables can be contacted if police advice is required; in case of legal issues; when a person wants to send a hint or message to the police, including sexual or other inappropriate treatment.
The post Anti-Sexual Violence Day calls for noticing the mistreatment of children first appeared on gazeta.ee.
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