The number of hospital admissions for self-inflicted injuries among teens agreed 14 and below have decreased since 2015, according to Minister for Social and Family Development (MSF) Desmond Lee.

In 2015, the number of self-inflicted injuries among teens admitted to hospitals was 42. This number dropped to 37 in 2016, and 30 in 2017.

According to Lee, these children would be treated for their physical injuries and provided "counselling and psychological support".

Lee's answer was in response to the Parliamentary question by Workers' Party's Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Daniel Goh who asked the Minister if there has been an increase in the number of children aged 14 and below involved in self-harm cases.

Lee added that teens are taught in schools to look out for one another. Those who engage in self-harm are referred to school counsellors. More serious cases are referred to medical specialists.

According to Lee, the number of cases referred to school counsellors over the past three years have been "small with no significant increase".

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KK Hospital to be one-stop centre for sex abuse child victims

Separately, Lee also mentioned that children are taught about personal safety, sexual abuse, and harassment in schools. They are also taught about the laws which protect them, as well as the skills to protect themselves when faced with an abuser or sexual predator.

This was in reply to the Parliamentary question by Member of Parliament (MP) for Tampines GRC, Ms Cheng Li Hui, who asked if current services and programmes by the MSF are sufficient to deal with cases of statutory rape and sexual misconduct.

Lee added that Kedang Kerbau Hospital (KKH) will be piloting a "one-stop multi-disciplinary approach" centre to assist victims of child sex abuse so that they do not need to go through the trauma of recounting their experience to multiple agencies and professionals.

This programme will be headed by MSF and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Lee ended his reply with the reminder that beyond the public sectors' network of help, members of the public can also help victims of child abuse by reporting cases to:

• Child Protection Specialist Centres
• MSF's Child Protective Service
• ComCare Hotline (1800-222-0000)
• the nearest Family Service Centre
• the Police (999)

Top image via Roots.sg