The battle to prevent child abuse gets even tougher during the economic crisis.
And there's a call for more people to help instead of just watching it happen.
More than five thousand pinwheels were planted around the State Capitol , representing the number of calls last year to the Parent Line, a counseling service for parents. The group Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii says that number has been increasing each year due to the worsening economy. Parents are going through more stress and becoming short tempered.
Jon Won, of Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii says military deployments have also added to the problem. In most cases, their spouses are away for extended periods and they're usually very young. "There's always the chance that there will be abuse of some kind, not only physical but psychological or verbal abuse."
"These young parents feel that they're by themselves, that there's nobody to turn to, and so the military services, support services and things like Parent Line certainly are there to help them," Won said.
As the problem increases, Won urges more people to keep their eyes open and take an active role. He says there are ways to intervene without putting yourself in danger. "For instance at the mall if you see somebody, a child being abused, go find a security officer cause they already have procedures to take care of that."
There is some positive news in that more calls to support services means there's more awareness. And a child that's been abused can be whole again, given the proper care. Mrs. Hawaii, Kristina Lum has proof of that from counseling abused children. "I've seen so many wonderful success stories with a lot of the children that I've been able to work with and I've been honored to to know, and how they really just look to someone to believe in them and to care for them," she said.
Advocates say everyone can help and by doing so, these pinwheels can be nothing more than just children's toys.
