safeguard the general public from such offenders. Nevertheless, so far the State has fallen short to compile and publish child sexual offenders’ registry. 178. The State should address the aforementioned legislative gaps in the draft Juvenile Justice Bill, and amend existing Family Law and Law on Protection of the Rights of the Children. Physical Abuse and Neglect of Children 180. Since 2009, HRCM has taken an initiative in marking the “World Day of Prevention of Child Abuse” in collaboration with government stakeholders and civil society, and the campaign focused on the theme of child neglect. The main objective of this campaign is to create awareness on child neglect amongst relevant government authorities, civil society organizations and the general public. Statistics from MoGFHR shows that a significant number of children suffer from neglect. Despite this, child neglect in the past received less attention than other types of maltreatment. One explanation could be that neglect is difficult to identify and society is still not aware of the acts and the consequences of this issue. Also, it is imperative to note that according to the Law on Protection of the Rights of the Children, neglect is an offence; however, there is no penalty for this offence. The establishment of child help line facilitated increase in awareness among the public and there has been a drastic increase in the reported cases of neglect as well. Chapter: Article 24: Rights of the Child 179. The Law on Protection of the Rights of the Children (9/1991) does not explicitly prohibit physical punishment in a domestic setting. The Article 18 of this law stipulates that no child shall, even as a measure of discipline subjected to punishment which may cause physical injury or which may be detrimental to the health of the child. Yet, this law does not impose any penalty on this. Particularly in 2010, there has been a drastic increase in the number of physical abuse cases reported to the Child, Family Protection Services of Department of the Gender and Family Protection Services (Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights, May 2012). The documentation of Family and Children Service Centers (FCSC) established in the Atoll levels by former Ministry of Gender (2007) needs to strengthen so that the collected data at national level can be used to assess the behaviour of children, for instance development of violent habits of children, increase in juvenile violence. Moreover, it could also contribute to formulate policy decisions towards creating public awareness targeting families and teachers on areas of concern. 69