Commenting on a report – How safe are our children? 2020 – from the NSPCC that suggests adolescents in Wales are more likely to be abused than younger children, Laura Anne Jones MS, the Shadow Minister for Equalities, Children and Young People, said:
“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted just how important it is to support and protect all our young people from the immense challenges they have faced during the lockdown, be it mental health, physical wellbeing, or abuse.
“The last few months have been both uncertain and unusual for our young people, and the impact of abuse during lockdown on adolescents, who are already navigating perhaps the most challenging period of their lives, is likely to be substantial and, in some cases, long-term.
“I am calling on the Welsh Labour-led Government to ensure that all aspects of supporting and protecting young people – including from abuse and its terrible effects – are central to its Covid recovery plan, because the long-term impact of effects of this will continue to be profound long after the pandemic has passed.”