News that nearly four percent of Bermuda?s children under the age of 15 are reported as abused or neglected was ?shocking? for Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley last night.

And child campaigner Sheelagh Cooper said the figures were just the tip of the iceberg.

The numbers came to light during the Senate Budget debate on the Department of Family Services yesterday. Government Sen. Walter Roban told senators the number of children referred to Family Services for abuse and neglect was down from 555 in 2002 to 443 in 2003.

When checked those numbers against the 2000 census, which stated children under 15 number nearly 12,000, it emerged that nearly 4.7 percent of children suffered from abuse and neglect in 2002 and 3.75 percent suffered in 2003.

?You can look at it as a positive sign that the numbers (of reported cases of abuse and neglect) are down,? Mr. Dunkley said last night. ?But we still have a tremendous problem.?

The ?startling? statistics showed significant numbers of cases still being reported, and Mr. Dunkley added that recent events ? such as this week?s confession of day care operator Jacquelyn Fubler to child abuse ? showed Bermuda needs to take action.

?There is really no excuse for us having a problem of that magnitude. We are a small community, some are of the opinion we are a close-knit community.

?But good strong family values have been eroded and now we are paying for the negative effects.?

There are a significant number of younger people having children, he said. ?Everybody?s entitled to make a mistake. But if you can?t cope with that child, he?s there by himself.

?It?s getting increasingly difficult to raise a child on the Island unless you have sufficient means.?

If the Island can instil the proper values over time we will see a change, he said.

Initiatives such as Health Minister Patrice Minor?s celebration of International Day of the Family are one step forward, he added. ?But if that?s all we do it?s really not going to solve the problem.?

And he called for Bermudians to think carefully when deciding to have children.

?It?s something so simple as planning ? not having a good night on the town and forgetting about reality.?

Coalition for the Protection of Children chairwoman Sheelagh Cooper said the figure of 443 was very revealing but could be just the tip of the iceberg.

?This is only the cases which have been reported ? that?s probably a very small proportion,? she said.

?The rule of thumb is that about ten percent of these cases ever get reported. This suggests its a significant problem.

?Children don?t talk about it and a significant proportion of care givers don?t listen or prosecute.

?It?s hard to imagine enough is being done given these numbers, we all have a lot to do.?

However she said great strides had been made in the last few years in improving the legislation protecting children.

She said reporting of cases had risen over recent years which indicated children were getting the message about what constituted appropriate touching and parents were becoming more sensitive to the issue.

Also in yesterday?s debate it was revealed that the numbers of children in foster care fell from 139 in 2002 to 127 last year.

Some children could be taken care of without having to remove them from their family settings, Sen. Roban said.

?Family Services is reporting a successful recruitment drive for new foster parents, with 15 new parents approved last year,? he continued.

Foster care offers temporary homes to children who one day may be reunited with their family but adoption is a permanent relocation for children who cannot return to natural family.

?Additionally in the last year, Family Services continued an initiative to reduce the number of children in long-term foster care,? Sen. Roban said.

56 foster children were returned to their natural families last year.

Family Services has extended provisions to foster parents themselves, so they ?are not left to feel as if they are alone after receiving children into the family unit?, Sen. Roban said.

?Again it can be noted this is an improvement over last year, clearly showing the initiatives being put in place by the department are having a positive impact on the number of children needing permanent placement services.?

He said the department continued to develop brochures, posters, and flyers to promote public awareness of the problem of child abuse and the importance of mandatory reporting.

?Presentations are continually made to helping professionals, members of the public and at PTA meetings.? the senator said.

Health and Family Services Minister Patrice Minors was in attendance at the Upper House during Senator Roban?s reading.