Government 'committed to fight any form of child abuse'

Social Policy Ministry Lawrence Gonzi has joined the debate about the recently published figures of child abuse reports, saying it was possible that more cases were being reported, rather than there being a higher incidence.

"Over the past two years, the Social Policy Ministry has doubled its funds for Agenzija Appogg. This has reflected itself in a 100 per cent increase in the resources allocated to Child Protection Services.

"Appogg has over the past two years increased its efforts to disseminate and raise awareness regarding child abuse and targeted specific risk-areas. The increase might therefore be explained more in terms of reporting than one of incidence. Heightened awareness results in better knowledge and therefore better access to services - with more instances being reported," Dr Gonzi said.

He said that on a national level, the government was committed to fighting any form of child abuse and adopted a zero-tolerance policy approach.

"It is imperative for the government to secure the welfare of future generations and to eliminate risk for those children who are in vulnerable situations. Cabinet's approval of the creation of a Commission for Children is a further step in this regard. The office shall be set up by the end of this year.

"Child abuse and neglect necessitates co-ordination and co-operation from citizens, and responsibility for the elimination of abuse and violence needs to be shared by each and every member of society."

It was recently reported that the number of child abuse cases reported to Agenzija Appogg in the first four months of the year increased by 33 per cent, to 206, when compared with the figure for the same period last year.

The majority of cases referred to the agency in the first four months involved physical abuse, and a significant number were of sexual abuse.

Last week the education ministry released figures showing schools had referred 370 cases of child abuse since the beginning of 2000, while agencies and other units referred another 95.

The largest number of reported cases were of a sexual nature, 173, followed by physical abuse, 127, and neglect, 103.

Government primary schools referred most of the cases, 206, while 87 cases were referred by area secondary schools and 43 by Church primary and secondary schools.