Taipei City Government

Children are not only the future of our country, they are precious babies we hold dear. Over the recent years, we have seen numerous incidents of child abuse and child victims. Last year alone, Taipei City received a total of 14,337 cases of domestic violence, and as many as 2,000 cases of child abuse were reported. All over Taiwan, there were more than 8,700 official cases related to child abuse last year. Not only has the number of child abuse cases risen, the ages of these victims have also shown to be younger. The phenomenon has certainly drawn the attention of the government and society; the Legislative Yuan has also been active in amending related regulations to increase the punishment of these inflictors.

On May 1, the Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je attended Partnership of Taipei City Government and Taipei Medical Association, hoping to lay out a child abuse reporting manual that offers easy diagnosis for doctors in community clinics. Ko Wen-je stated that he is against establishing special units whenever something comes up; domestic violence and child abuse issues need to be brought back to the social safety net to be handled. He believed that when someone cares for others, it is not showing kindness nor pity, it’s to “protect himself or herself”. To create a more close-knit social safety net, we have to learn from the U.S. with their culture of “being nosy”; whenever someone becomes a witness, they should report immediately. Moreover, since the child victims would often be sent to see a doctor when they are harmed or sick, the community clinics should report to the social safety net at once when they encounter these cases. If they could interfere post incident, they would be able to prevent more tragedies taking place; all medical professionals should possess this know-how.

The Taipei City Child and Youth Safety Protection Net has been precisely established on the culture of “being nosy”. Taipei City Government and the bellwether of Taiwan’s medical industry, the Taipei Medical Association, are now collaborating on protecting children’s safety. They will also be discussing the ways that the Taipei Medical Association could offer its resources to cooperate with the government and related departments.

Taipei City Government and Taipei Medical Association have designed basic screening charts and a simplified reporting procedure, and will work together on fully utilizing social resources and reinforcing doctor-police alliance. The 2,000 community doctors all over Taipei City are encouraged to join the force to watch over the safety of children and young people around us. Simultaneously, in all levels of schools and communities in Taipei City, education on children’s protection will also be promoted, and family co-learning and co-reading will be recommended. The City Government is making efforts to emphasize the importance of everyone’s contribution in giving every child a happy family.