The Family Protection Authority (FPA) has revealed that 169 cases of domestic violence were filed at the authority, in three months of the second quarter of 2022.

This was revealed through the statistics publicized by the authority, which reveal that a total of 169 cases were reported in the second quarter, adding up to 188 with referrals by other institutions or government agencies.

Statistics indicate that 100 cases were referred by the Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services, 65 from the Maldives Police Service (MPS), nine from health service providers as well as four direct referrals.

Out of the domestic violence cases submitted to the authority in the second quarter, 68 percent were reported from the congested capital city, Malé which makes up 128 cases, making the city the hub of domestic violence cases.

The authority also received domestic violence cases from Baa atoll, Alif Alif atoll as well as southernmost Addu City.

219 victims have been identified to be linked to these cases, most of whom are women.

In the span of three months, the authority identified 112 women over 18 years of age to have fallen victim to domestic violence, with 55 young girls below 18 years of age having victimized as well.

Further, the authority reported that 22 men over 18 years of age and 25 boys below 18 had also fallen victim to domestic violence during this period.

FPA identified 187 suspects in these cases, including 155 men and 32 women. Most of the case submitted to the authority have been identified as cases of physical assault, totaling 117 cases. The remaining are 116 cases of verbal and mental abuse and 83 victims who were threatened.