Bullying-related complaints, child abuse cases hit record highs in 2010 - The Mainichi Daily News

Bullying-related complaints, child abuse cases hit record highs in 2010

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Complaints over school authorities' inappropriate responses to bullying and cases of child abuse addressed under a Justice Ministry program to remedy human rights violations both reached record highs in 2010, the ministry said Friday.

The number of bullying-related complaints jumped 51.9 percent from the previous year to 2,714 and abuse cases grew 6.3 percent to 771, it said.

"The number of cases directly reported by affected children grew. It is possible that they brought to light underlying cases," said an official of the ministry's Human Rights Bureau.

The total number of human rights violations has remained at the 20,000 level since 2004. In 2010, the total came to 21,696, up 2.3 percent from the previous year.

Cases of violence and abuse accounted for the largest number of the total human rights violations at 4,788, down 6.1 percent from 2009.

Bullying-related complaints, child abuse cases hit record highs in 2010 - The Mainichi Daily News