Editorial | Abuse of children a public-health issue

Even with the national focus on children during the month of May, abuse and endangerment of children continue to be major concerns, with Jamaica lagging behind in the 2030 target to eliminate violence against children.

Children’s advocate, Mrs Diahann Gordon Harrison, said she was alarmed at the number of children and teenagers who made direct contact with the SafeSpot counselling helpline, which was established in 2021 through a multisectoral initiative.

About 3,600 calls were made to the 24-hour helpline, which is staffed by counsellors and psychologists. More than 60 per cent of the callers were females who expressed challenges with mental health, as well as family and peer relationships.

Perhaps Mrs Gordon Harrison should see a glimmer of hope in those numbers, for they point to a willingness on the part of the youngsters to reach out for help. It means, also, there are opportunities for the agency and its affiliates to act responsively to potential dangers faced by complainants. In other words, to suffer in silence is not helpful to the individual or the society.

This year the National Child Month Committee has called for love and protection of children, an appeal which conveys a similar message like the ancient African proverb which says, “It takes a village to grow a child.”

And it does take many people in a community to provide a safe, healthy environment for children to grow up, mature and realise their full potential. On a visit to Jamaica, in October last year, the United Nations Special Representative on Violence against Children, Dr Najat Maalla M’jid, said more collaborative action was needed to protect the nation’s children. She pointed to some forms of violence which she did not believe were being adequately addressed, including domestic violence, corporal punishment and sexual exploitation. She warned that Jamaica was running out of time to meet the 2030 target of eliminating violence against children.

As if to pour scorn upon the concept of celebrating our children, the Office of the Children’s Advocate reported that in 2021, and again in 2022, May was the month in which the highest number of abductions were recorded in Jamaica. This points to a segment of society which remains oblivious to the right of children to live free from fear and exploitation. Even though the numbers appear to be trending down, children are still going missing in Jamaica.

Mrs Gordon Harrison said the data indicate that children were more likely to be abused by people they know and trust rather than strangers. She, therefore, urged family members to be vigilant about who has access to their children.

The abuse of children has to be seen as a public-health issue, which has serious implications for the country’s development. Abuse can take various forms, including physical, emotional and sexual. It can take place in the home, at school, at church, and other social spaces.

In all of this, public awareness is vital, and the agencies involved in child welfare must seek to develop a framework for communities to coalesce around their youngest members, to protect them from adverse childhood experiences.

There is value in continuing to raise awareness to this fundamental right of children to be protected from violence, if Jamaica has any chance of fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goal to end all forms of violence against children.