VANCOUVER -- Isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to concerns about child abuse going unnoticed and unreported in the province. Last year, more severe cases of neglect and malnutrition were seen at a specialized BC Children’s Hospital unit than in previous years.

In Surrey, Sophie’s Place at the Centre for Child Development provides support and counselling for abused children. The centre’s CEO Gerard Bremault said children in these situations are more vulnerable as a result of the lost connections.

“The less contact a child has with other adults who might be able to make a report of child abuse, the less likelihood that is going to happen,” he said. “The sad reality is that it’s mostly children's most close contacts that are most likely to be those who may actually be involved in some of the abuse incidents, so that isolation is a real concern.”

At BC Children’s Hospital, the Child Protection Service Unit assesses children from all over B.C. in suspected abuse cases.

The unit’s medical director, pediatrician Dr. Nita Jain, said in 2020 the severity of the neglect and malnutrition cases they encountered stood out.

“It felt like it was an outlier year,” she said. “To see the cluster that we saw this past pandemic year was unusual.”

From April 1 to Dec.31, 2020, referrals to the unit were down overall, at 133 compared to the average of 224.4 over the past five years. Jain said she thinks that largely has to do with a decrease in reporting in the community.

“Especially in the early part of the pandemic, when children were really not in schools or daycares, and not being seen as much,” she said.

There were 13 cases of physical abuse assessed during that time, and 11 cases of neglect. All of the neglect cases also involved malnutrition, including six children assessed as having failure to thrive syndrome.

“Failure to thrive is a term that we use in the medical field ... It’s a term that’s limited to children,” Jain said. “Children should be growing and gaining weight and height ... When there are elements of their nurturance – including nutrition – that are missing, they won’t be able to reach those milestones.”

Thirty-seven children ended up being admitted to the hospital as patients during that timeframe, which was higher than the five-year average of 34.8. The average number of days those patients spent in the hospital was also higher: 313 compared to the annual average of 223.

Jain said the longer hospital stays speak to the severity of the patients’ conditions.

“It’s hard on the staff at the hospital,” Jain said. “Bedside nurses that are spending full shifts with children and really nurturing them back to health.”

Jain said the children they saw last year with severe malnutrition also suffered from a condition called re-feeding syndrome.

“You can’t just start feeding children without running into difficulties with the balance of electrolytes and metabolites in the body, so they have to be monitored very closely, and fed very carefully,” she said. “And I believe that’s really the reason why these children had such long stays in the hospital, was that process of rehabilitating through the malnutrition, and then of course the physical rehab that was required as well.”

Jain is hoping people will check in on those around them, and she’s encouraging families to come to the hospital if their child is unwell or requires a medical follow-up.

“I feel for these families,” she said. “They know they’re not doing well, and perhaps don’t have anybody to reach out to, or the support services that they had available have now been shut down.”

“We all have a responsibility to look after our children, whether they’re our biological children or the children of our community.”

Bremault also advised people to trust their instincts if they feel there’s something not right in a situation involving a child.

“My real request to everyone is keep their eyes and ears out,” he said.

Resources:

  • Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868.
  • Call 911 if you have concerns about a child being in distress.
  • To reported suspected abuse or neglect in B.C., call Child Protection Services at 1-800-663-9122, 24 hours a day. Children can call 310-1234. No area code is required.