Letter of the Day | One swift rescue, but thousands still in danger

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The recent action by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) to remove the children of TikToker June ‘Rosalee’ Dixon after her own alarming online statements is a reminder that vigilance saves lives. She outed herself by going live. But what about the other children who suffer in silence, whose abusers will never confess on TikTok? The agency must be commended for stepping in quickly, yet Dixon’s case shows how much more must be done to reach the voiceless.

The statistics are damning. The Jamaica Constabulary Force reported 1,134 cases of sexual offences against children under 16 in 2020. In 2021, the CPFSA recorded 3,432 child abuse cases, a 20 per cent rise. In September 2022, The Gleaner reported that there were 1,017 sexual abuse cases. In 2023, the JCF confirmed 1,243 cases, and by October 2024 the CPFSA reported 2,514 cases, including over 1,000 incidents of sexual abuse. These are not just numbers. They are children whose lives have been scarred.

What makes this troubling is that Jamaica’s curriculum already introduces body safety. Children in the early years are taught safe and unsafe practices. In Grade 1 they discuss good and bad touch, and by Grade 4 the topic is revisited. The health and family life education curriculum continues up to Grade 9, with lessons on child rights and protection. Resources also exist, including ministry materials and public campaigns. Even so, the abuse numbers continue to rise.

Part of the problem is cultural. Predatory behaviour is too often normalised, campaigns are short-lived, teachers feel uncomfortable addressing the subject, and schools are not held accountable for whether lessons are actually taught.

We cannot pretend that a brief mention of good and bad touch is enough. Silence protects perpetrators, not children. Safety literacy must be taught repeatedly, with proper resources and trained teachers. Most of all, children must be protected the moment they speak out, whether in the classroom, at home, or online.

If June Dixon’s children were saved because she went live, what happens to those who never get seen or heard? And if we agree that literacy in reading is essential, why is safety literacy still treated as optional?

SHANA-GAE REID