QCOSTARICA – Child abuse cases in Costa Rica reached the 2,377 this year, 719 cases more than those reported last year, which equals seven cases a day, official sources reported today.
The most alarming aspects is that abuses are increasingly more violent and, generally, are followed by lack of concern of the parents, head of Servicio de Trabajo Social (social work services) Ana Virginia Quesada said.
Quesada said the sad part is that many of the cases of abuse come to light only when the child is brought into a clinic for a cold or other illness.
The figures provided by the official suggest that at least 578 cases of parental negligence were reported this year, adding up to a total of 1,700 over the last three years.
This year, 14 children died because of abuse or neglect by their parents or guardians.
From 2006 to 2014, an average of 20 thousand children have been abused in Costa Rica, where the government expects to reduce those numbers next year by creating an institutional strategic commission for actions inside and outside homes, according to the CRhoy.com report.
The official said that on average, cchildren victims of abuse remain ten days hospitalized, while the child recovers and the Servicio de Trabajo Social and Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI – the child welfare agency, cconducts an investigation.
Source: Crhoy.com