Gender Ministry attended 236 cases in April

The Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Service received and attended a total of 236 cases during April.

The ministry on Wednesday publicized statistics for the fourth month of the ongoing year, revealing that the authority received and attended a total of 236 cases.

These include cases of violence against children, domestic violence, gender-based violence, family issues, care and support issues, behavioral problems, child rights violations, self-harming and suicidal behavior, social support and well-being and cases of children in conflict with the law.

99 cases of violence against children were reported to the authority in April alone.

Out of the 99 cases of violence against children, a majority involved negligence. As such, 23 children were victims of negligence.

The remaining cases include 21 children falling victim to sexual abuse, 15 cases of emotional abuse of children, 15 cases of physical abuse inflicted on children, 17 cases of children witnessing domestic violence, three cases of bullying and harassment, three cases of children being blackmailed, one case of exploitation and one other case.

53 girls and 46 boys were victims of violence in the past month.

Further, of the 43 cases linked to gender-based violence and domestic violence reported in April, 24 were of physical violence and abuse, nine were of emotional and verbal abuse, three were of intimidation, one was of withholding and damaging property, one was of sexual violence and abuse, three was of controlling behavior and two were of neglect.

39 girls and four boys were victims of gender-based violence and domestic abuse that month.

In addition to this, 29 cases were to do with family issues, of which eight related to access to the child, 10 victims were identified to have parenting issues, one was an issue related to maintenance and 10 relating to rights to access.

14 boys and 15 girls were victims of family issues.

Further, one boy was reported to have been denied access to health care as well.

The ministry also received 17 cases of self-harm and suicidal behavior during the past month. These included seven victims of self-harm including six girls and one boy, six victims who had suicidal behavior including two boys and four girls as well as four boys with suicidal thoughts.

Throughout April, 20 cases of care and support for the elderly and persons with disabilities were also reported. These include 19 cases of failure to give care and support for persons with disabilities and one case of failure to give care and support for the elderly.

The ministry also reported 21 cases of behavioral problems including five children who refused to attend school, five children who threw temper tantrums, five children who ran away from home, four children with delinquent behavior, one child with disciplinary issues and one other. 17 boys and four girls were reported to have behavioral problems among these cases.

Further, the ministry also received four cases of child rights violations where one girl and three boys are involved. One of them was stripped of their right to education, one was denied access to healthcare, one was denied their right to vaccination, and one was refused materials required for school.

Also, two girls were reported to be in violation of the law.

Statistics go on to indicate that 186 children were under state care by the end of April, including 105 boys and 81 girls.

Two boys were reintegrated with families and three were taken into state care including two girls and a boy.

Moreover, one boy was placed with a foster family.