What should you do if your child is a victim of child abuse in Singapore?
What constitutes child abuse in Singapore?
Child Abuse in Singapore
Simply put, child abuse in Singapore happens when a child is hurt. The exception to this is the “lawful correction of a child” for the purpose of teaching the child’s discipline. For instance, if a parent uses a ruler to hit the palm of the child because the child fought with his classmate, this does not constitute child abuse in Singapore so long as the act of hitting the child is for the benefit of the child and does not cause more harm than is necessary.
In a recent case that caused uproar in the internet, a mother was investigated for child abuse. She had allegedly allowed a snake to bit her 1-year-old child. The mother had found the snake in the driveway of her home. She wanted her child to learn and understand “how to interact with wildlife”.
The rat snake is non-venomous and generally not dangerous to humans.
In the words of a parenting expert, the mother had a “misunderstanding of how to teach an age-appropriate lesson” as “one-year-olds don’t understand cause-and-effect so all that will happen is that the baby will feel unprotected and wonder, ‘where did my mom go?’”
See: Elise Sole, “Mom Who Allowed Snake to Bite Her Baby as a Parenting Lesson, Charged with Child Abuse”, Yahoo Beauty, 11 June 2017
If you find out that your child is a victim of child abuse in Singapore, make a police report immediately. If your child has sustained physical injuries, bring him/ her to a doctor and get a medical report from the doctor.
Should a family member be responsible for inflicting the abuse on your child, you can make an application for a PPO on behalf of your child. Find out more today!
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