Singapore Records 4,686 Community Abuse Cases in 2025 as Helpline Reports Rise 49%

Children account for more than half of community abuse cases

Singapore recorded 4,686 new domestic abuse cases involving low to moderate safety concerns in 2025, up 3.5 per cent from 4,527 in 2024. Children accounted for 2,476 of those cases, while reports to the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline (NAVH) climbed much faster, rising nearly 50 per cent to 16,525.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), in its third Domestic Violence Trends Report released on October 29, 2026, described the community case numbers as broadly stable but still elevated compared with 3,918 in 2023. The 2025 total was about 20 per cent above that earlier level.

MSF separately recorded 2,021 new cases involving high safety and risk concerns, including 1,917 child abuse cases. Children therefore represented about 53 per cent of cases in the lower risk category and nearly 95 per cent in the higher risk category.

The figures measure different parts of Singapore's response to violence: concerns reported to a helpline, cases assessed for support and incidents requiring an emergency response. MSF attributed the continued elevation partly to stronger detection, greater public awareness and more people seeking help earlier.

New counting rules change the picture

MSF classifies cases with low to moderate safety and risk concerns as Tier 1. Community agencies, including Family Service Centres and Child Protection Specialist Centres, oversee these cases. Tier 2 covers high safety and risk concerns and is handled by MSF's Protective Service, which can use legal powers to protect someone, including removing a child from an unsafe home.

The 4,686 Tier 1 cases cover domestic abuse across categories, rather than child abuse alone. Likewise, the 2,021 Tier 2 cases include both children and vulnerable adults. The child abuse figures within those totals are 2,476 and 1,917 respectively.

MSF introduced three changes to make its statistics more precise. Family Service Centres now use the Family and Adult Support Tool to identify affected individuals more accurately, replacing records of concerns at the household level. Tier 2 child abuse counts now include children directly abused or neglected, or exposed to abuse at home, rather than every child assessed in a household with protection concerns.

Cases moving between agencies or tiers during the same year are also counted once, under the higher risk classification. A case that has closed and is later reopened because of new or recurring abuse continues to be counted separately.

MSF will use 2025 as the baseline for future comparisons of total Tier 2 cases and Tier 2 child abuse cases. Earlier figures used a different counting method. The ministry said the revisions generally produce lower totals by identifying affected individuals more precisely and removing duplicate counts, while case assessment and support continue as before.

Physical force remains central to child abuse

Children aged seven to 12 formed the largest group of child abuse victims across both tiers. Tier 1 child abuse cases rose from 2,373 in 2024 to 2,476 in 2025, an increase of about 4 per cent. Compared with 2,128 in 2023, the number was about 16 per cent higher.

Physical abuse was the most common form recorded. Tier 1 cases included 1,421 involving physical abuse, 562 involving emotional and psychological abuse, and 317 involving neglect. Tier 2 cases included 885 involving physical abuse, 483 involving neglect and 339 involving sexual abuse.

MSF said a substantial share involved excessive physical force used to discipline children. Its Protective Service considers the circumstances together, including the force used, how often it happens and whether a child has injuries. Burns, fractures and actions capable of causing serious injury are among the concerns that can require protective intervention.

Kevin See, director of integrated family service at Montfort Care, warned that physical punishment can teach children to obey through fear rather than understand their behaviour. He described how frustration can increase the danger:

When the desired response does not follow, frustrated parents may escalate the force they use, increasing the risk of harm,

MSF encourages parents to use discipline without physical punishment and to build positive relationships with their children. The practical concern is both immediate injury and the fear children can carry into daily life at home and school.

Children who witness violence also need protection

Nearly half of the Tier 2 child abuse cases involved children who witnessed or were exposed to domestic violence without being directly abused. The revised statistics make this group more visible: a child can need protection and emotional support even when another family member is the target of the violence.

Anne Chui, head of Allkin Family Service Centre at Ang Mo Kio 230, said repeated exposure can shape a child's understanding of relationships and conflict:

When violence becomes a regular feature of family life, children may come to see aggression, control or intimidation as normal ways of resolving disagreements,

MSF said witnessing violence can affect children's emotional wellbeing, behaviour and social development. Early support gives professionals an opportunity to address those effects and reduce the risk of further harm.

Protection can also require support beyond the point when an immediate crisis ends. MSF said about 18 per cent of high risk child abuse cases were referred back to its Protective Service within three years of closure. That figure makes continued attention to family safety an important part of the response.

Spousal abuse includes a growing emotional toll

New Tier 1 spousal abuse cases rose to 1,920 in 2025, from 1,871 in 2024 and 1,560 in 2023. The increase was about 2.6 per cent over one year and 23 per cent over two years. Women formed the overwhelming majority of victims, with those aged 30 to 49 the largest age group.

MSF said the rise was driven by cases managed by Family Service Centres, suggesting more victims were approaching community services for support. This gives social workers opportunities to assess safety and help families before concerns escalate, where working with the family is appropriate and safe.

Physical abuse remained the most common form, followed by emotional and sexual abuse. Emotional and psychological spousal abuse cases rose from 540 in 2024 to 613 in 2025, an increase of about 14 per cent.

Chui described emotional and psychological abuse as a persistent pattern that undermines a person's emotional security, dignity and wellbeing. In children, examples include repeated humiliation, unfair blame for family problems and harmful comparisons with siblings. Recognising repeated patterns, alongside physical injuries, broadens the opportunities for families and professionals to identify harm.

Older people and vulnerable adults face distinct risks

Elder abuse cases numbered 290 in 2025, compared with 283 in 2024 and 230 in 2023. MSF defines an elderly person as someone aged 65 or older. Women formed the larger group in Tier 1 elder abuse cases, and physical abuse was the most common type.

Older victims are often harmed by a family member or caregiver they trust. That relationship places the abuse within the same network on which a person may depend for everyday care and support.

High risk vulnerable adult abuse cases increased from 70 to 104, while self-neglect cases rose from 14 to 37. The totals remained relatively small, but the increases were sharper than those recorded for spousal and elder abuse. Male vulnerable adult abuse cases doubled from 24 to 48.

A vulnerable adult is someone whose physical or mental disability or incapacity leaves them unable to protect themselves from abuse, neglect or self-neglect. Self-neglect concerns a person's inability to meet essential needs for their own care and safety. Most new self-neglect cases involved elderly people.

MSF said better detection by healthcare and community partners may partly explain the increases. The figures point to a greater workload for services assessing people whose care needs and ability to seek help can differ substantially.

Police, schools and social services drive reporting growth

NAVH received 16,525 reports in 2025, up from 11,068 in 2024. Telephone reports rose from 9,153 to 14,083, while online reports increased from 1,915 to 2,442. Of the total, 13,475, or about 82 per cent, required follow-up such as assessment, investigation, safety planning or referral.

Members of the public, including people experiencing abuse themselves, remained the largest source of reports requiring follow-up, accounting for 5,158. Much of the growth came from professional agencies. Law enforcement reports rose from 941 to 2,850, social service agency reports from 1,923 to 2,813, and education sector reports from 1,418 to 2,056.

Those three sectors together accounted for 57 per cent of reports requiring follow-up, compared with 46 per cent in 2024. Since September 2024, police responding to domestic violence involving children or vulnerable adults have been required to notify NAVH so that safety concerns can be assessed and referrals made.

Teachers and school counsellors are trained to recognise possible warning signs, including unexplained injuries, changes in behaviour, frequent unexplained absences and disclosures about violence at home. MSF said greater awareness, professional vigilance and willingness to seek help likely contributed to the rise in reporting.

Follow-up work includes reports about existing cases as well as new concerns. Some contacts involve requests for information or situations assessed as requiring no formal intervention. Each category therefore represents a different workload, from answering a concern to managing an established abuse case.

Emergency teams responded to 1,439 incidents

The Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team (DVERT) attended 1,439 incidents in 2025, more than double the 675 in 2024. The team works with police on situations involving immediate safety concerns, with suspected spousal and child abuse making up a substantial share.

DVERT officers can provide crisis intervention, practical assistance and immediate safety planning before connecting families with continuing services. Each response is counted separately, including repeated attendances involving the same family.

Singapore's response system expanded through several stages:

• April 2023: DVERT began operating in areas including Ang Mo Kio and Sengkang.
• September 2024: DVERT expanded to all seven police divisions, and police notification requirements for incidents involving children or vulnerable adults took effect.
• January 2025: Women's Charter amendments empowered DVERT officers to issue emergency orders.
• October 29, 2026: MSF released its third Domestic Violence Trends Report, covering 2025.

MSF said the expansion across Singapore partly explained the increase in emergency responses by making immediate crisis support accessible to more families.

Emergency orders provide immediate protection

Authorities issued 1,151 emergency orders in 2025 under the Women's Charter amendments. These orders temporarily restrain perpetrators while victims seek longer lasting protection through the courts. Measures can include excluding an abuser from the home or prohibiting contact with a victim.

Men were the subjects of 80 per cent of the orders, with those aged 30 to 49 forming the largest age group. Spouses accounted for 674 orders, or about 59 per cent. The remaining orders involved parents, with 154; children, 141; siblings, 138; other relatives, 31; and former spouses, 13.

The Singapore Police Force said breaching an emergency order is an arrestable offence. MSF said data were not available on how many emergency orders were followed by applications for personal protection orders through the courts.

Kevin See of Montfort Care explained why practical support matters after an immediate crisis, when victims face decisions about housing, money and family relationships:

Choosing not to take further legal or police action is rarely about denial; it is often driven by financial dependence, fear of family disruption, or concern for the children's well-being.

Montfort Care typically supports families for 12 to 14 months, including help with safe accommodation, rebuilding confidence and community connections. That work continues after police and emergency responders have left.

Early 2026 figures point to continued pressure

Preliminary figures for the first half of 2026 showed increases across most abuse categories compared with the same period in 2025, MSF said. Tier 1 child abuse cases declined slightly, while Tier 2 child abuse cases rose slightly. New spousal abuse, vulnerable adult abuse and self-neglect cases also increased.

MSF plans to publish the detailed figures in the 2027 Domestic Violence Trends Report. Those results will provide the next comparison using 2025 as the new baseline for Tier 2 totals and high risk child abuse.

The 2025 figures show rising demands at several stages of protection: more concerns reaching NAVH, more emergency responses and continuing community support for families. Children remain the largest group in the case totals, including many who experience the effects of violence by witnessing it at home.

Key Points

• Singapore recorded 4,686 new Tier 1 domestic abuse cases in 2025, up 3.5 per cent from 2024.
• Child abuse accounted for 2,476 Tier 1 cases and 1,917 of the 2,021 Tier 2 cases.
• Revised counting rules make 2025 the new baseline for Tier 2 totals and Tier 2 child abuse.
• NAVH received 16,525 reports, nearly 50 per cent more than in 2024; about 82 per cent required follow-up.
• DVERT responded to 1,439 incidents, and authorities issued 1,151 emergency orders.
• Detailed figures for 2026 are scheduled for publication in the 2027 report.