High-risk child abuse cases in S’pore rose 14.5% in 2024, especially involving primary school kids

MSF calls for more vigilance to spot child abuse cases during year-end school holidays

The number of high-risk child abuse cases in Singapore rose by 14.5% in 2024, as compared with 2023.

This was revealed by a Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) report released on Wednesday (10 Dec), detailing trends in domestic violence from 2021 to 2024.

Abuse cases divided into 2 tiers

The Domestic Violence Trends Report 2025 divided abuse cases into two tiers.

Tier 1 is for “low- to moderate-risk” cases that were overseen by community agencies.

Tier 2 cases are defined as those of high-risk which are overseen by MSF’s Protective Service (PSV) and require statutory intervention.

Child abuse cases increased for both tiers

The number of both Tier 1 and Tier 2 child abuse cases climbed from 2023 to 2024, MSF said.

In 2023, 2,787 new Tier 1 cases were recorded, and this increased to 3,292 in 2024 — an 18.1% jump.

The number of new Tier 2 cases went from 2,011 to 2,303, an increase of 14.5%.

Kids aged 7-12 contributed most to rise in child abuse cases

For both tiers, cases involving primary school-aged children, i.e. seven to 12 years old, contributed the most to the overall increase in child abuse cases.

MSF suggested that more cases involving children of these ages had been reported as primary school students are educated on personal safety.

Public education and the continued training and vigilance of professionals were cited as other possible reasons.

Fewer child abuse cases in 2025 so far

As for this year, a preliminary analysis of the child abuse data indicated that the number of new child abuse cases in the first half of 2025 was lower than the same period in 2024.

However, MSF observed an “uptick” in new child abuse cases in October compared with earlier months.

This coincided with the release of a report on the death of four-year-old Megan Khung, who was abused by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.

MSF advised family members, neighbours, community partners and the public in general to stay vigilant for signs of child abuse in the community.

This is considering that children are currently out of school during the year-end school holidays, it said, adding:

Together, by staying alert and offering support to those around us, we can help protect those at risk of abuse.

Spousal abuse & elder abuse on an upward trend

MSF’s report also touched on other forms of domestic violence, i.e. spousal abuse, elder abuse, vulnerable adult abuse and self-neglect.

Both spousal abuse and elder abuse were on an “upward trend” from 2021 to 2023, but incidence rates for vulnerable adult abuse and self-neglect remained low.

Self-referrals made up a significant portion of spousal abuse cases, while the increase in elder abuse may be partly attributed to an ageing society, alongside greater awareness of elder abuse.

For overall domestic violence cases, the total number for both tiers increased by about 14% in 2024.

This was “driven primarily” by the rise in child abuse and spousal abuse cases.

Also read: Woman abuses 4 of 5 adopted children, gets only 5.1% of S$10.9M assets during couple’s divorce