HONOLULU (KHON2) — Statistics released in April show an increase in Hawaii child abuse cases tracked over the past three years — returning closer to pre-pandemic numbers according to the  Children’s Justice Centers of Hawaii.

For the year 2022, the CJC tracked 2,114 total cases of child sex abuse, felony physical abuse, child sex trafficking and children who witnessed a violent crime. The ages of those victims ranged from infants to 17-year-olds.

In 2020, they tracked 1,782 cases.

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CJC stated that when schools shut down and went online during the pandemic in 2020 the numbers decreased — a reflection of the lack of interaction between keiki and teachers and school administrators, who are required to report any suspected abuse.

According to the CJC, the most prevalent form of abuse according to continues to be sexual abuse with girls representing the largest number of victims. However, the number of boys victimized has also increased.

CHILDRENʻS JUSTICE
CENTER		YEARTOTAL CASES
TRACKED*		TOTAL CHILDREN
INTERVIEWED AT
CJC**
East Hawaii2020550140
2021495173
2022517154
West Hawaii202024851
202122394
202230372
Maui2020142117
2021261169
2022177125
Oahu2020647365
2021913548
2022946532
Kauai202019591
202116867
202217166
Statewide Totals20201782764
202120601051
20222114949
*Total cases tracked by the CJCs of Hawaiʻi refer to cases from Child Welfare Services that meet the CJC
criteria of sex abuse, serious physical abuse, child sex-trafficking and child witnesses of a violent crime.
**Total children interviewed at the CJC may differ fromthe number of cases tracked for a variety of
reasons, including but not limited to: too young (under 2 years of age), left the islands, the child was
interviewed by an investigator in the field etc..
***These statistics were provided by the CJCs of Hawaiʻi

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The two islands that showed the most overall increases from previous years were Oahu and Kauai, said CJC.