More coming forward with child abuse reports

REPORTS OF child abuse cases have doubled in the past two years, with one in three cases concerning sexual abuse.
The rise is being linked to more people coming forward rather than an actual increase in incidents.

The House Crime Committee yesterday heard the dramatic increase and accused the state of a lack of properly structured services to help and support victims.
Psychologist Costas Veis, the man in charge of child abuse cases at the Police Headquarters, told deputies that in 2004, 49 child abuse cases reached the police, with 31 per cent (15 cases) regarding sexual abuse.

In 2005, he added, the cases rose to 65, out of which 40 per cent (26 cases) were sexual abuse.

And in 2006, the child abuse cases increased even further, reaching over 100, though Veis said it had not yet been clarified how many of those were of a sexual nature.
The police psychologist also announced that there had been an increase in domestic violence, with incidents increasing to over 1,000 in 2006, compared to the 940 cases reported in 2005, while 400 incidents of teenage delinquency were also recorded in the past year.
Committee Chairman, Costas Papacostas of AKEL, expressed his concern over the large number of complaints. He stressed the need for better structured police services to deal with victims.

DISY deputy Tassos Mitsopoulos pointed out that the problem could not be handled when there were just three police officers in the relevant office to deal with the cases and with little state income. He added that a significant increase of funding was needed if the problem was to be resolved.

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