Members of the ministry’s Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Unit (SCAN) fear that the numbers already collected for the year will increase during the summer months when children are out of school.
Startling statistics revealed an alarming increase for the past two years. The Princess Margaret Hospital received 77 children in 2001. That number increased to 100 in 2002.
From January to May 2003, already 40 young children have fallen victim to sexual predators. In the month of May, 26 children, ranging from a few months old to nine years old had to receive treatment.
For 12 of those young victims the trip to the emergency room was not their first visit for sexual related injuries.
Source: The Tribune
