The Social Welfare’s Child Service Department has noticed a massive decrease in the overall child case reports last year compared to 2017.

Child case includes physical and sexual abuse as well as child negligence and malnutrition to name a few.

Child Service Assistant Director, Ela Tukutukulevu says 748 child cases were recorded last year compared to 1,145 cases in 2017.

Ela says there is a decrease in cases of child neglect, where 226 cases were recorded in 2018 compared to a massive 416 cases in 2017.

Cases of physical abuse also dropped from 206 in 2017 to 149 last year.

“I know there has been some reduction in the cases and there are various reasons for that as well. Some cases are simply underreported. While through our child protection awareness programs, we feel there has been a reduction, however, I still like to urge the public to report child cases.”

Ela says despite the decrease, parents should continue to spend more time with children to avoid unforeseen incidents.

Other cases that have noticed a decrease include teenage pregnancy, malnutrition and child labour.

Meanwhile, the Child Services has recorded 5,314 child cases since 2012, with 2017 recording the highest.