Children needing protection: experience from South Asia.

摘要

As in many societies, child abuse is often denied in-the Indian subcontinent. Probably one of the oldest recorded tales of child abuse is a 2500-year-old Buddhist story called Sopaka.' A jealous stepfather ties Sopaka to a corpse in a cemetery to be eaten by wolves. Buddha releases the boy and preaches to him, probably one of the earliest recorded instances of counselling. Buddhist scriptures also record the story of the boy Mattakundali,2 whose miserly father neglects him and deprives him of medical care.Most forms of child abuse have been described in South Asia. In addition, a new form of child abuse - the conscription of children during armed conflict - has emerged relatively recently, especially in Sri Lanka and Nepal.