By Ana Vinas, Staff Writer and Translator
Reports of child abuse in Ciudad Juarez are becoming more frequent every day, leading officials to believe the abuse problem in the city is very severe. According to statistics released by the Child Protection Department, (Procuraduria de la Defensa del Menor) there was a 30% increase in the reported cases of child abuse between September and October in Juarez, from 60 cases in the month of September to 83 cases in the month of October. According to the Child Protection Department (CPD) in Juarez, however, only 10 percent of child abuse cases ever get reported to authorities.The Department estimates that every day three children suffer from some type of abuse, however only about two cases are reported per week.
From January 1 to October 31, 1996, the CPD received 765 reported cases of child abuse. Of those, 359 were babies, 26 were preschool children, 323 elementary school students, 16 high school students and 234 cases were children who do not attend school. The main types of child abuse are physical, emotional, neglect, and sexual abuse. Abraham Sanchez, coordinator of the program "Children in Extremely Difficult Circumstances" (Menor en Circunstancias Extremademente Dificiles, Meced) stated that of the 765 reported cases since January, 216 were for physical abuse, 184 for emotional abuse, 259 for neglect, and 27 were cases of sexual abuse. Sanchez also stated that child abuse in Juarez has been nearly impossible to prevent because the majority of abuse originates in the breakdown of the family and extreme poverty. A table delineating the sex of children suffering from abuse, published in Diario de Juarez, indicated that cases of boys being abused are more often reported than cases involving girls. According to a study done by the Mexican Association Against Violence Against Women, the state of Chihuahua scored 3.78 points in violence against children, on a measurement point scale of 0-5.
Besides the abusive treatment of children, Juarez also suffers from a growing population of "street children". Most of these 'street children' have been abused or neglected when they lived at home. When they grow old enough to survive on their own, many prefer to run away. Some of these children are enrolled in the Department's Meced program. They estimate that there are at least 1000 kids living in the streets but only about 150 of them are being helped by Meced. The main problem is that the kids have a natural resistance to help and decline it when it is offered, according to one of the workers for the program.
In order to address the growing problem of child abuse in Mexico, Article IV of the Mexican Constitution will be amended to expand the responsibilities of parents towards their children, it was announced in November. There will also be changes in the responsibilities of public institutions toward children who are deprived of a family environment and those with mental or physical disabilities. The government is also contemplating the creation of a new Attorney's Office for the Defense of the Rights of Minors, and modifying 10 articles of the Civil Code to better protect adopted, abandoned, orphaned and homeless children. Officials believe these changes are highly needed due to the large numbers of child abuse cases over the past several years. The changes were developed with input from legislators, investigators, teachers and students who work in various governmental offices or in private organizations.
Sources: Diario de Juarez, El Norte