The Ministry of Social and Family Development has revealed the government aims to identify children who are victims of abuse and rescue them beforehand. Monthly statistics released by the ministry indicates majority of the cases filed to the ministry constitutes to cases related to children. Therefore, the ministry has been exerting several efforts to address this issue.
Providing insight on the efforts of the ministry, the Social Service Coordinator of the ministry Abdulla Ashraf stated that some parents have been providing the ministry relevant information, by contacting through the ministry's help line. He said that the ministry provides the parents important steps they can take to ensure the safety and security of their children.
In addition to providing services through the held line, Ashraf highlighted the ongoing efforts of the ministry to establish small groups in islands under the name "Ibama", aiming to mitigate child-related problems. He revealed the groups are responsible for identifying children who could be potential victims for abuse, and ensure the safety and security of the children.
During the first six months of the year, a total of 125 cases related to domestic violence were reported to the ministry, along with 119 cases of physical abuse and sexual abuse, 111 cases of neglect and 37 cases related emotional abuse. The ministry stated that the total number of cases reported during the first six months totals to 1,341. Of these, 589 cases are that of children , which is 43% of the total cases submitted.