More than a thousand children aged 4 or under suffer abuse or neglect each year in Montreal, according to youth protection data obtained by La Presse. A situation considered worrying by Metropolitan Public Health, which mentions in particular the difficulty of access to housing and childcare services as an obstacle to the well-being of toddlers.
Around 1,100 children aged 4 or under per year were victims of abuse and neglect in Montreal from 2018 to 2023, according to the most recent portrait of the situation which appeared this Thursday. The previous Montreal portrait dates back to 2010.
The two reasons most often cited are serious risk of neglect (45.5%) and exposure to domestic violence (38%). “The increase in reports of domestic violence is a red flag that we must collectively address,” said Montreal regional public health director, Dr. Mylène Drouin.
“That doesn’t mean they don’t have needs. But the first gateway is probably not the DYP, but rather prevention and support programs for families,” explains Dr. Drouin.
The two youth protection directorates (DYP) in Montreal have also noticed an increase in reports since the work of the Special Commission on the Rights of Children and Youth Protection, following the tragic death of the little girl from Granby.
“There has really been an awareness among stakeholders of the signs of abuse and neglect,” says researcher Isabelle Laurin, of the Perinatal, Childhood, Family and Community department of the Montreal Regional Public Health Department.
A child’s exposure to domestic violence, both physical and verbal, can have an effect on their development and their life course, says Dr. Mylène Drouin. The parent who experiences domestic violence may also be less willing to meet the needs of their child, which puts the child more “at risk of experiencing situations of neglect.”
Several factors can increase this risk of domestic violence. “When we accumulate different stressors, such as the housing crisis and inflation, it is conducive to risks of tension or violence within the couple,” says Dr. Drouin.
Due to the housing crisis, some families are forced to move to more remote neighbourhoods, where housing is more affordable but services are sometimes less accessible. “We need to break this isolation of certain families,” says Dr. Drouin.
She thus underlines the importance of having public policies that promote work-family balance, obtaining services and access to housing and daycare services.
Pointe-aux-Trembles–Montréal-Est, Montréal-Nord and Dorval-Lachine are the territories where there is the highest proportion of substantiated reports among young children. Certain population characteristics may have an effect on these results. “There are a lot of single parents and under-education in Pointe-aux-Trembles–Montreal-East, while other areas have more economic vulnerability,” explains Ms. Laurin.
Conversely, Petite-Patrie, Villeray, Côte-des-Neiges and Plateau Mont-Royal are among the territories with the lowest proportion of well-founded reports.
Almost all reports were made by staff from the health and social services network or the police. Only 1.5% of reports are due to child care.
This data can be explained by the fact that some children who are victims of abuse and neglect do not attend childcare, explains researcher Isabelle Laurin. Some daycare services also ask CLSCs to make the report for them, in order to preserve the relationship of trust and ensure that the child continues to attend the establishment.
Ms. Laurin, however, believes that there could be more awareness among childcare services about detecting cases of abuse and neglect, among other things “by explaining to them the reporting process.”
