Domestic abuse cases handled by community agencies remain elevated in 2025, with over half involving children

Under the changes, only children who have been directly abused or neglected, or exposed to abuse in the household, are counted as tier 2 cases. 

Children who are in a household with recorded child abuse concerns but are not exposed or subjected to abuse are no longer included in the figures.

On this, MSF said it would continue to assess the safety of all children in households where child protection concerns arise.

The third change addresses the double-counting of cases that move between agencies or between tier 1 and tier 2 classifications within the same year. 

Previously, a case could be counted twice if it moved between the two tiers, such as when a high-risk case was transferred to a community agency for ongoing support. 

Under the revised methodology, such cases are counted only once, under the higher safety and risk classification. 

But cases that are closed and subsequently reopened because of new or recurring incidents of abuse continue to be counted separately. 

MSF said these changes generally result in lower reported figures by more precisely identifying individuals affected and removing duplicate counts.

“The refinements for this year’s report were not prompted by a single catalyst, but are part of ongoing efforts to provide a more meaningful and accurate picture of domestic violence trends,” MSF said in response to CNA’s queries. 

The ministry added that 2025 will serve as the baseline year for overall tier 2 cases and tier 2 child abuse cases going forward, as applying the refined classification retrospectively to earlier years would require substantial manual review and re-coding. 

“Where the methodology remains comparable, such as for vulnerable adult cases, we continue to present the historical trend,” it added.

PHYSICAL ABUSE MOST COMMON AMONG CHILD ABUSE CASES

The report found that children aged seven to 12 formed the largest group of child abuse cases across both tiers.

Physical abuse was the most common type among tier 1 child abuse cases, with 1,421 cases reported in 2025. This was followed by emotional and psychological abuse, with 562 cases and neglect, with 317 cases.

Similarly, physical abuse was the most common type among tier 2 child abuse cases, with 885 cases, followed by neglect with 483 cases and sexual abuse with 339 cases.