30 cases of child abuse reported in April alone: Gender Ministry

The Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services received 30 cases of child abuse in April alone.

The ministry recently publicized statistics for the month of April, revealing that the authority received and attended to a total of 184 abuse cases in April.

These include cases of violence against children, family issues, behavioral problems, gender-based violence, domestic violence, care and support issues, child rights violations, children in conflict with the law, children under state care, reintegrated and fostered children as well as suicidal behavior and cases of self-harm.

Out of the 103 cases of violence against children, 60 victims were girls and 43 were boys.

30 of the 103 cases of violence against children were of sexual abuse, 29 of physical abuse, 10 of emotional abuse, 16 of negligence, four of exploitation and 14 of children having witnessed domestic violence.

21 cases were to do with family issues, of which 13 victims were identified as girls and eight were boys. These included 10 parenting issues and 11 issues related to custody and rights to meet.

Of the cases linked to gender-based violence and domestic violence reported in April, a majority involved physical violence and abuse against children. 17 out of the 31 victims of domestic and gender-based violence were victims of physical violence and abuse, with seven children being victimized by intimidation and four children being victims of emotional and verbal abuse.

In April, one child is reported to have fallen victim to stalking.

Another child was a victim of sexual violence and abuse, with one rape victim also having been reported.

Out of the 31 victims of gender-based and domestic violence, 27 were girls and four were boys.

The ministry also reported four cases of behavioral problems, including two children who ran away from home and two who threw temper tantrums. These included two girls and two boys.

Throughout April, 11 cases of care and support for the elderly and persons with disabilities were also reported. These included five women and six men.

Nine persons with disabilities and two elderly persons were stripped of their rights to care and support.

Further, the ministry also received four cases of child rights violations where children were stripped of their right to safe drinking water and electricity. These were two girls and two boys.

Within April, seven cases of self-harm and suicidal behavior were also reported to the authority. These included two girls with suicidal thoughts, one girl who exhibited suicidal behavior, three girls and a boy who harmed themselves.

Statistics go on to indicate that 201 children were under state care by the end of April 2022, with two children reintegrated with families and three taken into state care. The children under state care by the end of the month were 112 boys and 89 girls, with two girls and a boy having been taken into state care and one boy and one girl having been reintegrated with families.

Also in a related case, three children were also reported to be in violation of the law, including one girl and two boys.

These included one case of physical assault, aggression and two other unlawful acts.