The first healthcare network
worldwide against child abuse has been created in Italy with the
participation of 13 pediatric hospitals across the country and
15,000 pediatricians and general practitioners trained to
recognize signs of physical, sexual and psychological violence
against minors.
The project, which has already kicked off, was launched by
multinational pharmaceutical company Menarini, in cooperation
with children's helpline Telefono Azzurro, the Italian Pediatric
Society, the Italian Federation of pediatricians and the Italian
Association of Pediatric Hospitals.
Today, an estimated 70-80,000 minors suffer some form of
violence or abuse but only a minority of these cases are
reported.
The first phase of the project, called 'train the trainers',
includes training a group of 1,000 pediatricians through 23
intensive courses to enable them to recognize warning signs of
abuse.
This first group will then support and train other
colleagues in order to create a network of 15,000 doctors across
the country.
Moreover, Italy's top 13 pediatric hospitals will be
involved to host training courses as well as to treat abuse
victims.
Menarini has invested one million euros in the project.
"We are challenging the plague of abuse", said Lucia and
Alberto Giovanni Aleotti, respectively president and
vice-president of Menarini.
"This is the starting point of an international project
promoted by the International Center for Missing and Exploited
Children (ICMEC) that will bring Italy at the center of a
significant interest in the fight against child abuse".
According to a recent survey carried out by Telefono
Azzurro, in cooperation with Doxa Kids, many child abuse cases
go unreported and 70% of abuses occur within the family.
New technologies and the economic crisis are significant
risk factors, the survey said.
Warning signs listed in a handbook drafted by Telefono
Azzurro include unusually lonely and solitary behavior and when
minors are hyperactive or try to harm themselves.
Other behaviors to be monitored include insomnia and a
sudden decline in academic achievement.
Most of the abuses reported to Telefono Azzurro's 114
helpline are physical or psychological while one in 10 is
sexual.
Only one in five of sexual abuse victims and one in three of
violence victims are able to report the abuse they have
suffered, the helpline said.
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