The Safety of Woman Child

On Systematic Interference and Respect

Jay Lu/Freelancer/Association of Taiwan clinical Psychologists

Nowadays, when mentioning the issue of the safety of woman child, our government has legally made the regulations, like Children and Youth Welfare Act and Domestic Violence Prevention Act, to guarantee the safety of woman child. The regulations are especially for the purpose of legally positive protection, which provides justification for the national public power to interfere between the family and the protection of woman child. However, the word “law” connoting protection isn't always viewed as the top priority among affection, reason and law. In contrast to this negative concept, some people consider the law the positive concept to carry out public power and national will. Such a controversy arises from the actual execution of the strength of protection. Indeed, we hope to utilize the protective strength to present its will to the full when the law is needed. Nevertheless, from the concept of family system, how to restore the family relationship after executing the protective function, the whole respect for the family system and the family members' feelings is needed. Thus, we can do a better job in interference, not merely regarding offenders or persecutors with hostility and punishment for it's no use mending the family relationship.

The protection of the safety of woman child usually focuses on the weaker ones and lets out a broadside and imposes strict punishment on the offenders. It's acceptable from the concept of crime and punishment of the criminal law. However, what we call an offender is not only a persecutor but the one who has the marriage relationship or the parent-child relationship with the victims. When the punishments on the offenders come into an end, the bonding relationships between offenders and victims still exist. As a result, after the temporary interference of national public power, in addition to the protection of safety, the issue on close relationship is what we should emphasize permanently. Only through the emphasis on the issue will the pursuit of long-term protection of woman child and the respect for the mutual expectation and feelings be possible.

In recent issues on the protection and safety of woman child, the concept of empowerment will be gradually emphasized, that is, after coping with the personal safety, the respect for the victims' self-decision is essential. Under the long persecution, what the victims need is learn how to find their identity, make a self-decision, try and change. Such a course provides the victims with chances to choose, a shift from others' protection to self-reliance as well as new insights and adjustments to close relationship. Consequently, the victims are no longer the weaker ones. However, such a process is not always a guarantee of the deconstruction of relationship. Instead, it could be the reconstruction of relationship, which may contribute to the positive connection of close relationship. And this is the final goal, a long-term change of close relationship, after making so many efforts.

As for the offenders, a deeper realization of their roles and problems is the main concern. Since the concept of crime and punishment doesn't necessarily bring about a new learning, especially when the offenders regard their punishments as unfair judges. Therefore, their rages may result in more violence and maltreatment, which will cause a negative and worsened impact on the protection and safety of woman child along with the relationship between victims and offenders. Violence can't be acceptable; however, the motive and conflict behind the crime are often neglected. As a result, we are here to promote the concept of reconstruction. To increase the realization of the offenders, we can explore their meaning of behavior from the process of social molding of the role, and guide them to re-examine their predicament and choose the proper behavior model. Furthermore, they can have a wide-range review of their precarious situation in the close relationship and try to admit their faults and mend their fences so that they can help themselves improve the present relationship.

To make related regulations and executive ways sound, our country has been showing concerns about the issue on the safety of woman child as well as the adjustments to the regulations. For the issue of protection, apart from a more minute thought than before, the concept of empowerment has also been stressed in recent years. However, a deeper realization of the offenders has been developed. Such a different focus solves the problem of safety and adds respect to those receiving assistance. Let protection be a beginning, not an ending. Let the possibility for continuing close relationship become our highest aim.