5,404 complaints were received by the Child Services Department of the Social Welfare Ministry between 2012 and 2018.
Child Services Acting Director Ela Tukutukulevu says this includes incidents where minors were beyond parental control, physical abuse, child neglect and sexual abuse cases.
Tukutukulevu says they made referrals to relevant stakeholders to ensure the safety of children involved.
“They are counselled and we try and work with the4r parents on how to better work with their children, some work some doesn’t but if it works then we monitor their performance in school, we monitor their problems as well. ”
1,870 incidents of child sexual abuse were recorded from 2012 to 2018. 354 such incidents happened in 2015 alone.
Overall, the most number of complaints received was in 2017 where the Department responded to 1,145 cases.