The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection has reported two cases of child abuse and neglect involving infants just one day old. This information was presented to the Standing Committee on Social Affairs during the review of the ministry’s annual report for the financial year 2020-2021.
In total, the ministry recorded 1,727 cases of child abuse and neglect for the fiscal year 2020-2021, marking an increase from the 1,478 cases reported in the previous year, 2019-2020.
According to the ministry, most of the child victims were female, with 924 cases compared to 803 male victims. The majority of the affected children were aged between 0-5 years, a trend consistent with the previous year. Among these young victims, 155 cases were attributed to neglect and 96 to physical abuse.
The youngest reported victims were just one day old, with two cases noted, while the oldest were 17 years old, totaling 126 cases.