Related: China, UN join hands to combat violence against children    

      BEIJING, May 17 -- The first survey to shed light on the level of child abuse in China suggests violence against and among minors is widespread and growing.

     

Zhou Xiuyan, a 5-year-boy, shows his left hand on which his kindergarten teacher pricked 28 marks with knitting needle in a kindergarten in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. [newsphoto/file]

The study, sponsored by All-China Women's Federation, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Peking University, said the level of abuse had a lasting and damaging impact on children's mental health.

    "The study shows there is a clear association between history of child maltreatment and mental health," said Chen Jingqi, an associate professor with the Peking University.

    Covering more than 3,500 college students in five provinces and one municipality -Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hubei, Shanxi, Heilongjiang and Beijing - over the past two months, the survey found 54.6 per cent of boys and 32.6 per cent of girls had been bullied by others.

    The poll also found 9.7 per cent of boys and 13.5 per cent of girls had been forced to be touched or were molested, and 1.7 per cent of boys and 2.1 per cent of girls had been raped.

    "Young people with multiple abuse experiences had significantly lower scores and higher levels of depression and suicidal intention, compared with other students," said Chen, who headed up the survey ?the first of its kind to attempt to gauge the level of abuse in the country.

    The findings were revealed at the National Consultation on Violence against Children in Beijing yesterday.

    "There is a urgent need to promote research and study programmes to raise community awareness and prevent child violence," Anupama Singh, East Asia-Pacific regional director of UNICEF told delegates.

    "Violence is one of the most serious problem affecting children," Singh said. The consultation is part of a global study spearheaded by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

    "Sometimes, school or family can become a dangerous place for children and teenagers,"said Chen.

    Several recent cases highlight the problem of bullying in China. Early last month, a student caught on camcorder a pupil being beaten by her peers in Baoan District in Shenzhen of South China's Guangdong Province.

    The harrowing scenes were then released by a news website on the Internet.

    "This incident has triggered a hot online discussion over school violence which is on the rise,"Chen said.

(Source: China Daily)