By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH there was a reduction in the number of reported cases of child abuse in the country last year compared to 2013, the number of reported cases of incest increased six-fold in New Providence last year, according to data provided by Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin.

Mrs Griffin said 2014 saw 634 reported cases of child abuse throughout the country, 159 less than the 793 cases reported in 2013.

However, according to statistics, of the 392 cases of child abuse reported in New Providence last year, there were 37 reported cases of incest. In 2013, there were only six reported cases of incest.

Additionally, there were fewer reported cases of child abuse in New Providence in 2014, 392 cases, compared to the 490 reports in 2013.

Of the 392 cases, 176 were cases of neglect, 81 less than the 257 cases reported in 2013. There were also 112 cases of physical abuse reported in New Providence in 2014, one less than the 113 reported in 2013.

The data shows that, in New Providence, there were also 47 cases of sexual abuse, 48 less than the 95 cases in 2013, and nine cases of verbal abuse as opposed to five in 2013.

There were six reported cases of emotional abuse in New Providence in 2014 compared to nine cases in 2013. The Department of Social Services recorded five cases of abandonment in New Providence last year, the same number as in 2013.

Speaking at a press conference to launch Child Protection Month, Mrs Griffin said while there were reductions in most of the categories, the figures do not reflect the many cases that may go unreported.

“The clear reduction is noted and while some may attribute this to the effectiveness of our prevention efforts, this does not necessarily mean that there were in fact fewer cases of abuse, as these are only the ‘reported’ cases,” she said. “We, therefore, cannot by any means decrease our efforts because as I often say, even one case of child abuse is one too many.”

Child Protection Month is an initiative by her ministry in conjunction with the National Child Protection Council and the Suspect Child Abuse and Neglect Unit of the Ministry of Health to raise awareness of child abuse in the country.

“While it is recognized that child abuse can occur when people find themselves in stressful situations with limited or no community resources and unable to cope, many cases of child abuse are preventable,” Mrs Griffin said. “In seeking to prevent child abuse, it is therefore necessary to identify the situations that may be contributing factors and put in place appropriate programmes and services to address these.”

In November of last year Mrs Griffin said that her ministry was “well on the way” to establishing a children’s registry.

The registry will be responsible for receiving, recording and referring reports of child abuse to the Child Protection Unit and to the police.