Health ministry expands child abuse medical center program

The health ministry said Wednesday it awarded plaques to hospitals designated as dedicated child abuse medical centers and distributed a medical screening guide to help physicians identify suspected abuse earlier.

The ministry and the National Child Rights Protection Agency have run the program since 2022 to provide prompt treatment, counseling, reporting and consultation for abused children. The centers are split into 17 regional hubs handling emergency and complex cases and 388 local centers supporting nearby cases.

The guide is a single-page poster for medical staff, with a medical screening tool called FIND and a trauma-sign identification standard known as TEN-4-FACESp. It also includes developmental stages by age and photo examples of suspected abuse injuries.

The plaques were designed with a friendly image and name to raise awareness of the centers in local communities and lower the threshold for patients and guardians to visit.

"Medical institutions are the front line that can recognize signs of child abuse first," said Kim Hyun-sook, the ministry's population and child policy director. "We will continue to prepare various support measures on the ground to strengthen the role of the dedicated centers."

Kim Yu-im, head of the National Child Rights Protection Agency, said early detection matters most. "It is above all important not to miss the small signals a child sends," she said. "I hope this plaque award and the distribution of the medical judgment guide help medical staff swiftly detect suspected signs of abuse and connect children to the treatment and protection they need."