2024 Wrapped: The Biggest Social Stories of the Year, and What's Next

From the introduction of 10 weeks of shared parental leave to another baby care option in the form of childminders, The Straits Times looks at the biggest social news in 2024 and what families can expect in the new year.

- Theresa TanSenior Shermaine Angand Syarafana Shafeeq

From Jan 2, 2025, an emergency response team from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will also be able to issue emergency orders to stop family violence immediately.

Childminding Pilot
Parents with babies aged from two months to 18 months now have another infant-care option, following the launch of a new childminding pilot by the Government.

The childminding pilot, which will run for three years, was first announced in March by Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.

Since Dec 1, childminding operators EduNanny by Butler, Kidibliss and NannyPro Care have provided services under the pilot.

The programme aims to grow childminding services to be an affordable, safe and reliable infant caregiving option for parents, the Government said.

It allows parents to choose the number of days a week they need help and opt for more flexible hours, compared with leaving children for a fixed period of time at infant-care centres.

Stopping Domestic Violence
In September 2024, MSF released its inaugural Domestic Violence Trends Report which showed a growing number of spousal violence and less severe child abuse cases.

In 2023, there were 2,008 new spousal violence cases, up from 1,741 cases in 2022.

The number of new Tier 1 child abuse cases, defined as those with low to moderate safety and risk concerns, rose from 2,760 in 2022, to 2,787 in 2023.

MSF attributed the growing number of cases to greater awareness and reporting of family violence, coupled with better detection of such violence.

From Jan 2, 2025, officers from a 24-hour emergency response team will be given the power to issue emergency orders at the scene of high-risk domestic violence cases, which will immediately stop abusers from committing further violence.