More Jamaican children addicted to pornography

Warren Thompson, Director of Children and Family Programmes at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), says his office has seen an increase in the number of children being addicted to pornography. 

Speaking Monday evening at a public forum hosted by the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) dubbed 'Children Sex and the Media - Regulation and Responsibility in the Digital Age', Thompson said this issue worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Thompson also shared his concerns about the "unregulated Internet space" which he said is conducive to the proliferation of child pornography. He also said many Jamaicans do not know that the production, possession and distribution of child pornography is a criminal offence. 

Meanwhile, Latoya Minott-Hall, Public Education and Special Project Manager at the Office of the Children's Advocate, called for parents to better monitor their children's usage of the Internet, contending that social media has a great influence on children. 

“One of the greatest challenges we have is the vast and growing influence of social media on our children," she said. "While children have their rights, and we do speak for those rights, we want you to pay attention to what is it that your children are doing". 

She said a 2015 report by her agency revealed that more than 50 per cent of children engaged online with persons they have never met before.

The forum is being held as part of the PAJ's  National Journalism Week, which runs from January 29 to February 4 under the theme  'Free Press for a better Jamaica'. 

-Sashana Small 

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.