By Thu Vân

I cannot breathe. (So forgive the shrillness of this piece)

Suffocating doesn’t begin to describe the way my heart constricts these days as news about sexual abuse of children breaks out, one after another.

And as heartbreaking as the cases are, the brain explodes in the deafening silence from those we believe are there to uphold the law, protect our children.

A 13-year-old girl in Cà Mau Province and her family reported to local police that she was abused by a neighbour eight times and petitioned that the perpetrator be taken to court. The answer they got from the police last November was a decision not to investigate further because “there was not enough evidence”.

Last month, on February 10, the girl killed herself. Tiếp tục đọc “Child abuse: When silence becomes criminal” →