With six children having been murdered since the start of the year, and countless cases of abuse being brought to the courts each day, children's advocate Mary Clarke is urging the nation to revisit how it treats its children.

Raising a number of issues at a luncheon honouring the winners of the Inter-American Press Association's (IAPA) news coverage award for the 'Dayton Avenue church series', Clarke said several local practices are breaching the rights of the island's children.

"Jamaica abounds with myths and beliefs, and they (offenders) honestly believe some of them, so men take advantage of the young girls because of the culturally ingrained practice and beliefs," she said.

Clarke argued that it was not only predators who abuse children, as many parents and caregivers across various socio-economic spheres are also guilty of harming the young.

Lack of awareness

Pointing to the Child Care and Protection Act which addresses the ill treatment and physical and emotional abuse of children - and the applicable penalties - Clarke said a lack of awareness of the legal consequences isn't helping.

"Not much is known generally," she said. "The role of the parents, the role of the police and the role of the courts, it's all there in the Act, but not much is known."

She urged the society, and the media in particular, to play a role in educating persons on child rearing.

"The media have to go beyond informing to educating about parenting (and) how do we teach parents protective child rearing," she said. "Parents beat their children without understanding the developmental stages their children are at," she added.

Clarke also called on parents to teach their children how to protect themselves against abuse, as many incidents of abduction or abuse occur because the children do not raise alarms.

The children's advocate was speaking against the background of The Gleaner's IAPA award-winning series of articles on a case involving the abuse and videotaping of a young girl by a group of teenagers, under the watchful eye of a deacon, and the subsequent attempt to cover up the case.