Reports of sexual abuse of minors in Panama ballooned 68% between 2017 and 2018 in Indicating greater awareness of a scourge that has remained invisible, say sources from the Public Prosecutor's Office and Unicef.

The statistics, do not allow "categorically affirm that the number of victims has increased: what we can affirm is that the registry of complaints is greater", the UNICEF office in Panama told the Efe News Agency.

"We are beginning to perceive another attitude on the part of the fathers and mothers since they are beginning to resort to the authorities to stop this type of abuse," prosecutor Maruquel Castroverde, a member of the Public Ministry's team in charge of the complaints, told Efe.

In 2018, the authorities received 6,256 complaints of crimes against sexual freedom and integrity and in 4,015 of them, the victim was a minor, 68% more than in 2017, when 6,621 complaints were filed.

Girls, make up 91% of the victims identified. Of the 4,015 minor victims identified by the Public Prosecutor's Office last year, 1,513 were due to rape.

When you look closely at the numbers of victims of sexual violence - irrespective of age. "Most of the victims are in social strata with very marked economic deficiencies and are usually of school age," said Castroverde.  The aggressors are usually people from the victim's family circle or very close to it.