SINGAPORE: Community agencies saw an increase in child abuse cases with low-moderate risk concerns between 2021 and 2023gg777, according to a report published by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) on Thursday (Sep 26).

There were 2,787 such cases last year, up 17 per cent from 2,377 in 2021.

In its inaugural Domestic Violence Trends report, MSF defined tier 1 cases as those with low to moderate safety and risk concerns for the vulnerable person. 

This includes cases where there is infrequent occurrence of verbal abuse, such as derogatory remarks, that does not escalate to physical violence or severe psychological abuse. 

Tier 1 cases are overseen by community agencies, which include child protection specialist centres, protection specialist centres and family service centres.

Cases with high safety and risk concerns and require statutory intervention are classified as “tier 2”. An example of such a case would be if a parent inflicted severe injuries such as burns or fractures on their child. Tier 2 cases are overseen by MSF. 

According to the report, the number of new tier 2 child abuse cases declined slightly by 6 per cent - from 2,141 cases in 2021 to 2,011 cases last year. However, this figure remains higher than pre-COVID levels.

This could be due to increased stress and conflicts faced by families during the pandemic, said MSF. But the ministry also attributed the higher numbers to stepped-up government and community campaigns during this period to increase awareness of domestic violence and reporting of child abuse.

Children aged between seven and 12 made up the largest group of tier 1 cases while those aged six and below accounted for the highest proportion of tier 2 cases.

Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling told reporters the number of child abuse cases is concerning. 

“We see that the primary type of abuse towards children is in the form of physical abuse. We would like to raise greater awareness of this and also to work with educators and community partners so that we are better equipped to detect child abuse cases,” she said on Sep 17.

Explaining her ministry’s stance on corporal punishment, Ms Sun said: “We recognise the role that parents have when it comes to disciplining their children. But there is a line to be drawn when that discipline becomes overly harsh and excessive, and this could be seen if there are open wounds and very prevalent marks of abuse on the child.” 

In such cases, the MSF’s Child Protective Service will investigate the case and bring the matter up to the Courts, she added. 

“I think very importantly, any form of discipline has to be proportionate to the behaviour of the child so excessive discipline that causes harm to the child is not something that we can condone.” 

MSF said the incidence rate of new tier 2 cases remained relatively low at less than three per 1,000 children - low compared to other countries. For example, the incidence rate was 21 per 1,000 children in Australia between 2021 and 2022. 

“We recognise that some of these cases may not actually result in final convictions, but regardless, we encourage reporting because every case is one case too many,” said Ms Sun.

Related:Commentary: Family members who keep quiet about child sexual abuse are just as guilty Fatal child abuse: The crime of standing by and why mothers let their children die ADULT ABUSE 

The 28-page report also highlighted key trends in abuse involving spouses, the elderly and vulnerable adults. 

It showed an increase in the number of new tier 1 spousal abuse cases as well as tier 1 elderly abuse. 

For spousal abuse, the number of new cases jumped from 1,632 cases in 2021 to 2,008 (23 per cent increase) last year, while new tier 1 elderly abuse cases increased slightly by 5 per cent from 283 to 297 over the same period. 

MSF’s report suggested that this could also be due to greater awareness about domestic violence and increased efforts to detect and refer cases of elderly abuse to community agencies. 

Meanwhile, the number of new tier 2 abuse cases involving vulnerable adults aged 65 and above, who make up the majority of vulnerable adults, fell by half from 84 in 2021 to 42 last year. 

Similarly, the new number of tier 2 abuse cases involving vulnerable adults aged between 18 and 64, fell sharply from 42 to 23 over the same period, a 45 percent drop.

MSF said the small base for elder abuse and vulnerable adults may suggest that more efforts are needed to raise awareness about such cases.

TACKLING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The government has progressively implemented measures to tackle domestic violence since it set up a task force on family violence in 2020. 

This includes starting a campaign to increase public awareness and training people in various sectors such as childcare centres and schools how to spot and report signs of domestic violence. 

A 24/7 emergency response team was launched in April last year to attend to high-risk domestic violence cases with immediate safety concerns has responded to 307 cases as of July this year. 

Last year, parliament passed a Bill to give authorities more powers in cases of family violence, such as issuing emergency orders at the scene of a high-risk case.

MSF said its working towards enacting a Domestic Violence Act to extend protection for people in intimate non-familial relationships.gg777

Listen:

• amp
• #039
• gg777
• Child
• Low-moderate