Unit Assistant Director Ela Tukutukulevu

The Child Services Unit received 1301 Child cases last year, the highest recorded since 2016.

Unit Assistant Director Ela Tukutukulevu says child cases include child neglect, violence against children, malnutrition cases and teenage pregnancy to name a few.

“That’s a concern for us who receive cases on a daily basis. So right now with the database that we have and with mandated reporters who continue to report cases to us on a daily basis, we find that cases are reported everyday so that means that children are either being abused, violated every day and also as a result of our awareness, we believe that this is why there has been an increase in reporting as well.”

The Director says they’ve recorded a 22 percent increase compared to the 838 cases in 2018.

The Child Services Unit makes relevant referrals to stakeholders for further action such as Police, Health Ministry or Education Ministry.