[WATCH] 12 cases of abuse on minors reported to Church commission

12 cases of abuse on minors reported to Church commission

A commission set up by the Maltese Church to combat abuse received a total of 24 reports of abuse last year, the Safeguard Commission said today.

Half of the reports claimed abuse on minors whilst the other 12 involved vulnerable adults.

Head of the Commission for the Safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable Adults, Andrew Azzopardi, told a media conference that two cases of abuse on minors had been substantiated and immediate action was taken.

A total of 19 cases involving minors were investigated, with seven cases having first been reported in 2015.

Azzopardi said there were cases where the allegations could either not be proved or were referred to the relevant entities as the reports didn’t fall within the Commission’s remit.

In six of the cases, “restriction on pastoral activity was imposed as a precautionary measure”.

In the case of vulnerable adults reported to have been subject to abuse, the Commission found that four of the allegations had been substantiated and the necessary action was taken.

Similarly, in one of the cases reported, the Commission ordered a restriction in pastoral activity.

Four cases - two involving minors and two vulnerable adults - were referred to third parties.

Since its inception, over 350 reports were brought forward to the Commission. Reports are not strictly related to sexual abuse, but also include physical or emotional abuse and neglect.

Speaking to MaltaToday, Azzopardi said that around half of the cases were related to sexual abuse.

"The majority of cases did not provide enough evidence to be substantiated", Azzopardi said, adding that reports have gone down by 60% since 2015.

"This does not mean that children are less at risk but that the training put out by the commission is serving its purpose," he said.

Azzopardi stated that the Commission's goal was to raise awareness on problems with minors and that the Commission is not afraid of backlash.

The Commission was set up in 2015 with the aim of combating abuse by individuals working for the Church – being in the community, in one of its schools or at any of its homes.