Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed has today launched the Maldives Child Protection Database.
Speaking at a ceremony held at Iskandharu Building this morning, the Vice President noted that giving necessary care, love and safety to children was vital to build a strong and peaceful society.
Expressing concern over the increasing reports of cases of child abuse and neglect, the Vice President said the biggest obstacle to addressing the issue was that children and women face abuse and neglect usually from a member of the family or people they trust.
He said it was necessary to change the society’s general perception of children and women to stop the violence against them.
Maldives Child Protection Database (MCPD) is established with the assistance of UNICEF, UN Children’s Fund, in collaboration with Maldives Police Service, Ministry of Health and Family, Ministry of Education and Juvenile Justice Unit.
This national database will keep records of all child protection data and ensure that children are referred appropriately throughout the child protection system, which involve law enforcement agencies and educational institutions.
MCPD is designed to capture details of reporting and follow up of cases of Child Abuse, Juvenile Delinquency and Gender Based Violence in the Maldives.
In his opening remarks, the Vice President said accurate information on increasing incidences of child abuse and neglect would be more readily available as a result of the database.
He also stressed that the database would allow law enforcement agencies as well as all the other concerned authorities to expedite the investigations of reports of child abuse and domestic violence cases, and enable better coordination among relevant authorities.
