Over 1,900 higher-risk child abuse cases in 2025; 7 to 12-year-olds form largest group

A total of 1,917 higher-risk child abuse cases were investigated by the Ministry of Social and Family Development's (MSF) Protective Service in 2025, with majority of victims aged seven to 12.

The incidence rate of such tier 2 child abuse cases — where victims are severely harmed or exposed to higher safety and risk concerns — remained low at 2.3 per 1,000 children.

MSF published its annual Domestic Violence Trends Report on Thursday (Oct 29) which examined the overall domestic abuse problem in Singapore.

In tier 2 child abuse cases, the ministry's intervention is required to keep victims safe through measures including placing a child under supervision, or removing a child from their home to be send to alternative care.

In 2025, there were 969 tier 2 cases involving a child who was directly abused or neglected.

Another 948 cases involved a child who was exposed to abuse.

Most victims primarily suffered or witnessed physical abuse, according to the report, which highlighted the use of excessive physical force during discipline as one cause of tier 2 cases.

"While parents may adopt different approaches to discipline, MSF encourages parents to use non-physical means of discipline and build positive parent-child relationships," it urged.

The total tier 2 child abuse cases of 1,917 sets a new baseline for future reports.

This year's case number cannot be directly compared with previous years because MSF refined its reporting methodology to exclude children in the same household as a victim but not abused or not exposed to abuse.

"These reporting refinements do not affect how cases are assessed, managed or supported," the ministry stressed.

"All individuals from households with identified domestic violence concerns continue to receive the appropriate level of support and interventions that are tailored to their needs, circumstances and level of risk."

Meanwhile, the number of new tier 1 child abuse cases — referring to cases with low or moderate safety and risk concerns — went up slightly to 2,476, from 2,373 cases in 2024.

These cases are overseen by community agencies, including Family Service Centres (FSC) and Child Protection Case Management agencies .

MSF suggested in the report that the "sustained level" of tier 1 cases could point to more vigilance and reporting by members of the public and frontline professionals.

Similarly, children of primary school age made up the largest group of tier 1 cases, with physical abuse being the most common type of abuse.

Overall, there was a total of 4,686 new tier 1 child, spousal, elder and vulnerable adult abuse cases in 2025.

Physical abuse occurred most often across them all.

The total tier 1 abuse cases in 2024 was 4,527, and the 2023 baseline was 3,918.

There were 1,920 new tier 1 spousal abuse cases in 2025, comparable to 1,871 cases in 2024, said the ministry, which attributed the rise to lower-risk cases handled by FSCs.

MSF said higher-risk cases managed by Protection Specialist Centres remained stable, which suggests that more people had sought support through FSCs, reducing the likelihood of cases escalating in risk.

Tier 1 elder abuse cases also remained stable at 290 cases in 2025, with 181 cases suffering physical abuse.

There were 83 emotional and psychological abuse cases, 14 neglect cases and 12 classified as others.

However, tier 2 elderly vulnerable adult abuse cases increased to 61, from 38 in 2024.

Vulnerable adults are persons unable to protect themselves from abuse, neglect or self-neglect due to mental or physical weakness, disability or incapacity.

Tier 2 cases are managed by MSF's Protective Service.

In total, there were 104 new tier 2 vulnerable adult abuse cases in 2025 compared to 70 cases in 2024.

The number of new tier 2 vulnerable adult self-neglect cases increased too, from 14 cases in 2024 to 37 cases in 2025.

Of the 37 cases in 2025, 22 involved elderly persons.

MSF said the rise in cases could partly reflect improvements in the identification and reporting of abuse and neglect.

"The number of vulnerable adults is expected to increase due to our ageing population, and it is projected that one in two healthy Singaporeans aged 65 today could become severely disabled in their lifetime," the ministry said in the report.

"As such, the Government is working to ensure that legal protection and social services are relevant and sufficient for this group."

More reports to NAVH helpline

The National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline (NAVH) received 16,525 reports in 2025, an almost 50 per cent increase from 11,068 in 2024.

But not every report to NAVH leads to a new abuse case, the ministry said.

Of the total reports in 2025, 82 per cent required follow-up, but it was found that some reports were related to existing cases.

Some others were assessed not to require statutory or community-based intervention.

The ministry also noted the increase was largely driven by reports from the law enforcement agencies, social service agencies and the education sector.

Since September 2024, police officers responding to domestic violence incidents involving a child or vulnerable adult are required to notify NAVH.

MSF's 24-hour Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team (DVERT) responded to 1,439 domestic violence incidents in 2025, where a significant proportion involved suspected spousal abuse and child abuse.

DVERT works with the police to respond to high-risk domestic violence cases and may provide immediate safety planning, crisis intervention, and practical support at the scene.

Its officers also have the power to issue emergency orders, which temporarily restrain a person from committing violence against a family member until a court issues an order.

In 2025, a total of 1,151 emergency orders were issued — 80 per cent to male perpetrators.

Among the 1,151 orders, 674 were issued to spousal abuse cases.

Emergency orders were also most commonly issued to perpetrators aged 30 to 49 years. MSF said its preliminary data on family abuse for the first half of 2026 suggest a continued increase in new cases across most abuse categories compared to the same period in 2025.

"MSF and our partners remain committed to preventing abuse, protecting victim-survivors, supporting affected families and facilitating the rehabilitation of persons causing harm," it said.

"Through [a] whole-of-community effort, we aim to identify concerns early, provide appropriate support and build safer environments for individuals and families."

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

2025 年，社会及家庭发展部 (MSF) 保护服务部门共调查了 1917 起高风险虐童案件，其中大多数受害者年龄在 7 至 12 岁之间。

二级儿童虐待案件（受害者受到严重伤害或面临更高的安全和风险问题）的发生率仍然很低，每 1000 名儿童中有 2.3 例。

无国界医生组织于周四（10月29日）发布了年度《家庭暴力趋势报告》，该报告调查了新加坡的整体家庭虐待问题。

在第二级虐待儿童案件中，需要该部门介入，通过包括将儿童置于监管之下，或将儿童从家中带走送往其他照料机构等措施来保障受害者的安全。

2025 年，共有 969 起二级案件涉及儿童直接遭受虐待或忽视。

另有 948 起案件涉及遭受虐待的儿童。

报告指出，大多数受害者主要遭受或目睹了身体虐待，其中，在管教过程中过度使用武力是第二类案件的原因之一。

“虽然父母可能会采取不同的管教方式，但无国界医生组织鼓励父母使用非体罚方式进行管教，并建立积极的亲子关系，”该组织敦促道。

二级虐待儿童案件总数为 1917 起，为未来的报告设定了新的基准。

由于无国界医生组织改进了报告方法，将与受害者同住但未受虐待或未接触虐待的儿童排除在外，因此今年的病例数无法与往年直接比较。

“这些报告方面的改进不会影响案件的评估、管理或支持方式，”该部强调说。

“所有来自存在家庭暴力问题的家庭的个人都将继续获得适当程度的支持和干预，这些支持和干预是根据他们的需求、情况和风险程度量身定制的。”

与此同时，一级儿童虐待案件（指安全风险较低或中等的案件）数量略有上升，从 2024 年的 2373 起增至 2476 起。

这些案件由社区机构监督，包括家庭服务中心 (FSC) 和儿童保护个案管理机构。

无国界医生在报告中指出，一级病例的“持续水平”可能表明公众和一线专业人员更加警惕并积极报告。

同样，小学年龄段的儿童是第一级案件中人数最多的群体，其中身体虐待是最常见的虐待类型。

2025 年，共有 4,686 起新的一级儿童、配偶、老人和弱势成年人虐待案件。

在所有虐待事件中，肢体虐待最为常见。

2024 年一级虐待案件总数为 4,527 起，而 2023 年的基线数据为 3,918 起。

该部门表示，2025 年新增一级配偶虐待案件 1920 起，与 2024 年的 1871 起案件相当，并将案件数量的增加归因于家庭服务中心处理的低风险案件。

无国界医生组织表示，由保护专家中心管理的高风险病例保持稳定，这表明更多的人通过家庭支持中心寻求帮助，降低了病例风险升级的可能性。

2025 年，一级虐待老人案件数量也保持稳定，为 290 起，其中 181 起涉及身体虐待。

共有 83 起情感和心理虐待案件，14 起忽视案件，以及 12 起其他案件。

然而，第二级老年弱势成年人虐待案件从 2024 年的 38 起增加到 61 起。

弱势成年人是指因精神或身体虚弱、残疾或无能力而无法保护自己免受虐待、忽视或自我忽视的人。

二级案件由无国界医生组织的保护服务部门负责处理。

2025 年共有 104 起新的二级弱势成年人虐待案件，而 2024 年则有 70 起。

2024 年新增的 2 级弱势成年人自残案件数量也从 14 起增加到 37 起。

2025 年发生的 37 起案件中，有 22 起涉及老年人。

无国界医生组织表示，病例增加可能部分反映了虐待和忽视行为的识别和报告方面的改进。

该部门在报告中表示：“由于人口老龄化，弱势成年人的数量预计将会增加，据预测，如今新加坡每两名 65 岁的健康成年人中就有一人可能在其一生中严重残疾。”

“因此，政府正在努力确保为这一群体提供切实有效的法律保护和社会服务。”

更多报告请发送至 NAVH 热线

2025 年，全国反暴力和性骚扰求助热线 (NAVH) 收到 16,525 份报告，比 2024 年的 11,068 份增加了近 50%。

但该部表示，并非每次向 NAVH 举报都会导致新的虐待案件。

2025 年收到的所有报告中，82% 需要跟进，但发现有些报告与现有病例有关。

另一些患者经评估认为不需要法定干预或社区干预。

该部还指出，这一增长主要是由执法机构、社会服务机构和教育部门的报告推动的。

自 2024 年 9 月起，警方在处理涉及儿童或弱势成年人的家庭暴力事件时，必须通知 NAVH。

无国界医生组织的 24 小时家庭暴力紧急响应小组 (DVERT) 在 2025 年处理了 1439 起家庭暴力事件，其中很大一部分涉及疑似配偶虐待和儿童虐待。

DVERT 与警方合作应对高风险家庭暴力案件，并可在现场提供即时安全计划、危机干预和实​​际支持。

其官员还有权发布紧急命令，暂时禁止某人对家庭成员实施暴力，直到法院发布命令为止。

2025 年，共发出 1151 份紧急命令——其中 80% 针对男性犯罪者。

在 1151 份命令中，有 674 份是针对配偶虐待案件签发的。

紧急命令最常发给30至49岁的施暴者。无国界医生组织表示，其2026年上半年家庭虐待的初步数据显示，与2025年同期相比，大多数虐待类型的新案件数量将持续增加。

“无国界医生及其合作伙伴将继续致力于预防虐待、保护受害者和幸存者、支持受影响的家庭以及帮助施虐者进行改造，”声明中写道。

“通过全社区的共同努力，我们旨在及早发现问题，提供适当的支持，并为个人和家庭创造更安全的环境。”

lim.kewei@asiaone.com