Child protection committees in Iceland become involved in a relatively higher number of cases than is common in other countries, according to an item on RÚV.
A new report by the Government Agency for Child Protection states that the agency was involved in cases affecting seven percent of all Icelandic children under the age of 18 in 2004. That year, child protection committees were involved in 20 percent more cases than in the previous year, affecting a total of 5,600 children. This is equivalent to the child protection committees having received 16 reports per day of children in distress. The report states this percentage is substantially higher than in other countries.
The report, however, is not all bleak, and refers to a study that shows that students in upper secondary schools drink less and use fewer intoxicants than they used to, that fewer have needed rehabilitation and that figures by police show that crimes committed by teenagers are not on the rise. The 2004 report appears to contradict a more recent study (see Daily News item “Lack of discipline on the rise amongst Icelandic teens.”)
