Although it remains an unpopular thing to say, the fact is that children are not for everyone and not everyone can take care of them the way they should.
One particular incident stands out in my mind where I was queueing to pay for some groceries and I witnessed a child asking for a small packet of inexpensive sweets only to be told by the person I’m assuming was the mother that she couldn’t afford them.
This might not have raised any eyebrows had it not been for the dozen packets of cigarettes on the counter she was about to purchase and the very long, very expensive-looking nails she was donning.
The child looked heartbroken, and, to be honest, so was I. I can only speculate what this mystery child’s home life might have looked like.
The reality is that Malta is moving from a country where children and family seemed to be at the core of our society to a place where children are not as welcome as they used to be.
Our declining birth rate is a significant indicator of that, but, perhaps, not as big an indicator as the number of child abuse reports made to the Foundation for Social Welfare Services’ Child Protection Services (FSWS).
According to the 2023 FSWS annual report, the total cases worked (including old and new cases) by the Child Protection Services has been on a steady incline. In fact, the number of cases in 2020 almost doubled in 2023, with 2,306 cases being worked on in 2020 and 4,360 in 2023. The department stated that it currently receives 200 new child abuse reports a month, which, on an island this small, is no joke.
The problem is that while the number of child abuse reports has grown, the Child Protection Services team has not. FSWS chief executive Alfred Grixti stated that the 55-strong team would need at least another 49 people to manage the growing caseload. I can only imagine how exhausting and exasperating this situation must be for FSWS employees.
I’ve said it numerous times, but I’ll repeat it for the cheap seats at the back: our authorities are simply not adapting to the changing fabric of our society. As hard as it must be for the traditionalists to stomach, there is no virtue in sticking our heads in the sand and ignoring the obvious.
Families are not looking like they used to 20, even 10, years ago, and we need to cater for this by updating our legal and social frameworks.
Separations cannot continue to take years to be concluded, tax refund cheques cannot continue to arrive in the husband’s name by default, and more resources need to be allocated to the mental health and social welfare sector.
I hate to be the one to say it, but if you found €600,000 of taxpayer money to install three green walls which were left to rot and God knows how many thousands to replant the same centre strips with petunias over and over again, there should be more than enough to pay for more people to help abused and neglected children.
I don’t know about you, but that’s where I would like my tax money to go.