50% of reported cases this year are of violence against children, says Minister of Gender, Family and Social Services Shidhatha Shareef.

Speaking on a live program on RaajjeTV, the Gender Minister stressed that half of the 700 cases submitted to the ministry are related to children.

According to ministry statistics, 359 cases of child abuse were submitted to the ministry within the first three months of 2019.

While 100 familial cases were reported to the ministry, 21 cases were forwarded regarding children’s rights.

Shidhatha also revealed that said child-related cases include negligence, as well as physical and psychological abuse.

In addition, many cases were reported over negligence in spending for children’s basic needs. The ministry also received many reports of depriving children of their educational rights and denying them their identification and passports.

Further, Minister Shidhatha also said that the ministry had received 2,880 child-related reports during 2017 and 2,635 cases during 2018.

Stressing that the increase in child-related cases are a pressing issue, the minister highlighted that these cases are not showing a sign of decreasing. She stressed on the importance of creating more awareness among the public about the issue.

She also expressed her confidence that the results of the government’s efforts to strengthen the system will be seen very soon.