Wakayama Prefecture Welfare Division reports increase of abuse against people with disabilities in Fiscal Year 2018

Written with extracts translated from The Wakayama Shimpo

February 17th 2020

WAKAYAMA Pref – In fiscal year 2018, Wakayama Prefecture dealt with forty-seven reports regarding disability abuse, an increase of ten reports compared to the previous year.

According to a summary by the Wakayama Prefecture Disability Welfare Division, fourteen cases were identified and confirmed as cases of abuse against people with disabilities, an increase of three cases from the previous year.

Thirty-two of the reports were in regard of abuse by caregivers, a decrease by one from the previous year. By type of abuse, physical abuse was the most common, eight confirmed cases involved psychological abuse, abandonment or neglect as well as economic abuse.

There were fifteen confirmed cases of abuse by employees of welfare facilities for persons with disabilities.