BRUSSELS – A total of 1,212 children in Brussels and Wallonia were taken into care last year after it was believed they had been sexually abused, it was reported on Tuesday.

La Dernière Heure said the children’s care organisation SOS Enfants would publish a full report into the figures in the autumn.

The latest figures come from the 14 SOS Enfants teams working in Brussels and Wallonia.

Overall, 3,680 children were believed to be victims of some form of mistreatment last year.

The figure was closely similar to the number of cases the previous year, which totalled 3,706.

In more than 80 percent of the cases, the children were found to be abused by their family or adults close to the family.

[Copyright Expatica 2004]

Subject: Belgian news