More than 100 cases of violence against children in February

More than 105 cases of violence against children were reported to the gender ministry in February, representing nearly half of cases attended to during the month.

The figure was down from 128 cases of violence against children reported during January, which included 28 cases of sexual abuse.

February’s cases included 26 cases of physical abuse, 22 cases of sexual abuse, eight cases of victims of bullying and harassment, five cases of emotional abuse, five cases of witness to domestic violence, three cases of victims of cyber bullying, two cases of commercial exploitation, one case of commercial sexual exploitation and one case of exploitation.

The gender ministry attended to one case of a child who was refused access to education, according to statistics published Tuesday.

There were 12 cases of custody or access, nine cases of parenting issues and two cases of child maintenance.

Six cases of minors in conflict with the law included one case of theft and five cases of vandalism and damage to property.

Behavioural problems reported included four cases of children running away from home, three cases of refusal to attend school, and one case of bullying and harassment.

Some 25 cases involving gender-based violence and domestic violence were reported during the month, the most common of which involved forms of physical abuse with 10 such cases.

Other cases included seven cases of emotional or verbal abuse, two cases of intimidation, one case of negligence, one case of sexual abuse, one case of sexual harassment and one case of controlling behaviour.

There were reports of 16 cases related to care and support for elderly and 14 cases regarding care and support to persons with disabilities.

Gender ministry officials attended to five cases regarding self-harm and suicidal behaviour.

Gender ministry statistics for 2017 confirmed a rise in child sex abuse cases, with more than 400 reported during the year.

Child abuse and sexual abuse remain key problems in the Maldives. A mandatory child sex offenders’ registry was published in 2015.