The register of child mistreatment (RUMI) shows that in 2018 there were 4,417 notifications of child abuse in the Balearics; these cases covered psychological, physical and sexual abuse as well as negligence.
This figure has increased year on year and is the highest in the country in relative terms; the register is a control system at state level which records confirmed and non-confirmed cases of abuse in each region. It has been used in the Balearics since 2010, and as an indication of the increase in the number of cases, in 2014 there were 1,563 notifications.
The register is managed by the ministry of social affairs, and both the ministry and the Fundación RANA, the charity dedicated to preventing child abuse, believe that the increase is due to the issue having become more visible and to there having been more reports of abuse. It isn't necessarily the case, therefore, that there is more abuse per se; just that there is better reporting.
The users of the register, which is accessed online, are professionals who have direct contact with minors. The highest number of reports came from the education sector - 1,123. This was followed by social services with 868.
When suspicion of abuse is recorded, the register categorises cases according to mild, moderate, serious and very serious. Each case is followed up and either confirmed or - dependent on the situation with each individual child - eventually discarded. The minister of social affairs, Fina Santiago, says that the most serious notifications are those most likely to be confirmed.