The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) has said it stopped 659 cases of child marriage all over the country, adding that the council received 647,956 reports over crimes against children in 2019.
Dr. Azza El Ashmawy, Secretary General of NCCM said 438 of child marriages were reported in Faiyum Governorate, in addition to receiving 1,581 reports of female genital mutilation last year.
A statement from the NCCM explained that 37% of the cases received were child abuse cases, 54% of which were described as physical violence, while 40% were emotional violence, 6% sexual violence, and 1% verbal violence.
Among the reported cases of violence, it was found that males are more likely to be abused than females, as the statistics revealed that 60% of violence was against males, while 40% were against females, El Ashmawy explained.
She stated that children between 10 and 12 years are the highest group reported to face violence, as the council received 5236 reports in this group of age. Some 3940 reports were of children between the age of 7 and 9 years last year.
The council also dealt with 62 cases of human trafficking, and 547 cases of illegal immigration as well. She said that the council had launched number of awareness campaigns aimed at ending violence against children and spreading awareness among parents, and teachers, in addition to launching campaigns against bullying.
El-Ashmawy affirmed that the NCCM had provided 5,388 psychological consultations. While 1542 legal consultations were given to guide families, while providing alternatives for each case, clarifying that a group of lawyers are responsible for the legal support.
She indicated that 1,022 cases of child shelter were received, while 779 complaints were related to educational problems, and 401 were related to health problems. She said that workers in the complaints-receiving system are sparing no effort in providing all means of support for children to protect them from all forms of violence and abuse, in cooperation with the relevant authorities.
