High-risk child abuse cases rise by 14.5% to 2,303 in 2024: MSF report

Authorities reported 834 cases among children aged seven to 12, followed by 824 cases that involved children aged zero to six, and 645 cases involving those aged 13 to 18.

“Educating primary school students on personal safety and protection from abuse, and continued training and vigilance of professionals, could have contributed to more cases reported,” MSF said.

Despite the increase in tier 2 child abuse cases, the total number of children in out-of-home care declined from 1,509 in 2023 to 1,454 in 2024. 

Children aged 13 to 18 years were the largest age group of those in out-of-home care, followed by those aged seven to 12 and zero to six. 

“A possible reason for the decrease in out-of-home placement is the introduction and ramping up of safety checks by safety check officers in 2024, who assist protection officers through home visits and video calls to monitor the safety of children at home,” said MSF.

Overall, the incidence rate of new tier 2 cases rose to 2.8 per 1,000 children in 2024, up from 2.4 in 2023.

“This remained lower compared to other countries; for example, the incidence rate in Australia was 21 per 1,000 children in 2022 to 2023,” said MSF.

In response to CNA’s queries, the ministry said there were no records of any child death cases from 2021 to 2024 where the child was under MSF Child Protective Service’s case management prior to the child’s death. 

In that same period, around 10 per cent of tier 2 child abuse cases that the Protective Service investigated were court cases, MSF said. 

Court cases refer to cases with a Care and Protection Order under the Children and Young Persons Act granted by the Youth Court.