Protection of infants covered in excrement” and “Father’s ‘hobby’ is domestic violence”… “Harsh abuse scenes” testified by child guidance center staff and victims.

In FY2024, child abuse cases handled by Child Guidance Centers nationwide reached a record high of 223,691. On the other hand, there were 6,481 Child Welfare Officers who provide consultation, investigation, and intervention for child abuse, and 2,912 Child Psychologists who provide psychological support (as of April 2024, according to a survey by the Child and Family Agency), a total of less than 10,000.

By simple calculation, each Child Welfare Officer and Child Psychologist is responsible for approximately 23 cases, but the actual number is significantly higher due to the so-called “continuing guidance” that they have taken over from previous Child Welfare Officers. Following the troubles of Shinnosuke Abe, former manager of the Giants, introduced in Part I, we would like to clarify the reality of child abuse based on testimonies we obtained in our interviews.

Part I: The serious reality of the “Abe’s assault case” at the Child Guidance Center, which drew criticism for a letter written by the eldest daughter.

I am currently in charge of 170 cases, and I come home late at night every day. I am often left unattended during home visits, and parents hurl abusive epithets at me on a daily basis. Some parents even threaten to ‘give them a free pass’ by pointing out their past criminal records,” said a child counselor in the Kansai region.

Keita Yasuda (pseudonym, 31) works at a child guidance center in the Kansai region. After one year of work experience, he obtained a license as a child welfare officer, but since then, he laments that it has been a series of hard work, both physically and mentally.

I had no professional skills to begin with, so the child abuse field was tougher than I had ever imagined. There were times when I had to protect infants covered in excrement in a garbage room, and there were infants with broken bones all over their bodies and ankles bent in the opposite direction. Lives were at risk on the part of the staff as well. One female staff member was doused with kerosene by a parent and almost set on fire.”

When conducting on-site inspections where danger is anticipated, the officers wear protective vests, but unlike police officers, they are not allowed to carry weapons. This is why in recent years the government has strongly encouraged cooperation with the police, who have the power of enforcement, and with lawyers who have legal expertise.

Tip off the police!”

However, some staff members are cautious about cooperating with the police. Takashi Nojima (pseudonym, 40), who works at a child guidance center in the Hokuriku region, says , “There are cases where parents’ resistance and distrust are strengthened by forced intervention, which in turn makes the situation worse.

After receiving a report of abuse, we first gather information and conduct an assessment (evaluation of the abuse) to determine the level of urgency. We consider whether to protect the child or support the child at home, but in any case, it is important to build a relationship with the parents.

Temporary shelters in each area have a capacity of about 30 children and are always full. The overwhelming majority of children live at home while being abused. It is essential to continue providing guidance and oversight to parents. If they hold a grudge against us, saying, ‘You tipped off the police,’ they will not comply with us honestly. They may disappear with the child and commit even worse abusive acts out of our reach.

In general, one might say, “Separate the children from their abusive parents,” or “Place them in an institution as soon as possible. However, as mentioned above, many temporary shelters have no vacancies. Even if a child can be placed in an orphanage or other facility, “that is not the end of the matter,” says Nojima.

Children who grow up without proper affection tend to have trouble building relationships with others and become maladjusted to group life. There are cases of bullying between children, sexual problems, and favoritism by staff.

In some cases, children are placed in institutions at all costs, while in others, they live at home while the child’s minister guides the parents and helps them learn a different parent-child relationship. There is no end to the worries about what is the right solution for the child.

So what do the people involved, those who have been victims of abuse and have been taken into the custody of the Child Guidance Center, think?

Dozens of times with a frying pan.”

Mara Muraoka (pseudonym, 25), who lived in a foster home until the age of 18 after being taken into care along with her two-year-old sister when she was in the sixth grade, recalls , “I had some bad times at the home, but it was 100 times more hellish at home.

My father was a man whose ‘hobby’ was domestic violence against my mother and abuse of his children. He would get angry at the slightest thing, and my sister and I were put on the floor on our hands and feet and beaten dozens of times on our buttocks and backs with a frying pan. I almost fainted from the pain and even became incontinent.

But if I put on clothes, the marks of the assault would not be visible. People around me did not notice, and I did not think to talk to anyone about it. If my father found out that I had talked to someone about it, not only would my mother and sister suffer worse, but also me. I was afraid of that.

The revelation of the severe abuse was the result of my sister’s “pregnancy” when she was in the second year of junior high school and sexual abuse by my father. ……

With the intervention of the Child Guidance Center, my sister received medical attention and entered a mother-child support facility with my mother. After her parents’ divorce was finalized, the sisters moved to a children’s home when their mentally ill mother was hospitalized. Ms. Muraoka graduated from a vocational school and began working in the welfare industry.

Her older sister got married four years ago. Ms. Muraoka is now living modestly in public housing with her mother, who has recovered from her illness. Even so, the trauma of his violent past has not disappeared.

There are people who say, “It is a parent’s love to beat a child, and my father’s iron fist made me an honest man,” but that is because they are already adults and are not afraid of their parents. I was scared of my father and followed him like a slave. I even thought, ‘If I die, it will be easier.

It would be easier to die. I was an obstacle. My parents beat me because it was my fault, and I had no one on my side.

The case of Shinnosuke Abe, 47, former manager of the Giants, mentioned in Part I, has brought increased attention to child guidance centers and problems between parents and children. I would like to see a deeper understanding of child abuse so that the logic of powerful adults will not drive children, who have neither power nor money, a safe place to stay nor a place to run away, into a corner.