The number of care order requests received by child protection authorities has doubled since 2020, and the number is still on the increase, the government said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference marking two years since the child protection law came into force, government revealed that from just 12 applications in 2020, the figure rose to 36 in 2021.

A further 36 applications for care orders have already been submitted so far this year. Since 2020, there have also been over 220 reports involving unaccompanied minors arriving in Malta with adult migrants.

Director for the Directorate for the Child Protection Services Steve Libreri announced the statistics since the implementation of the law, which showed that since 2020 there have also been a total of 4,142 reports to the child protection services.

57% of the cases have been closed, amounting to 2,347, whilst 743 (17%) cases were not accepted due to various reasons, Libreri said.

Libreri also said that the increase in applications could be due to various issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as more notably the introduction of mandatory reporting by professionals working with minors, who became obliged to report child abuse suspicions.

188 reports were received for court services between 2020 and 2022, with 117 cases still ongoing. Libreri said that the Children’s House, which was introduced for child witnesses to give their testimonies outside of court, has proven successful among the police who use it for questioning minors.

Minister for Children’s Rights Michael Falzon said that since the implementation of the law, it has already been changed twice due to new realities arising, and said that it will be changed again in the future.

Falzon said that the law gives a voice and a sense of empowerment to children, especially with the introduction of psychiatrist services for minors of 16 years of age, so that they can seek these services without the consent of their guardians. Falzon said that every minor should be able to reach their potential.

The Minor Protection Act was passed into law in 2020 following several years of revisions, consultations, and updates.