Clarke

Avia Collinder, Sunday Gleaner Writer

WOULD SOME of the 63 children who have been killed since 2008 be alive today if Jamaicans were better parents, legislators were more effective and law enforcers more vigilant?

Local child advocates and professionals working in the field of child health believe that cultural, parenting and regulatory problems need to be addressed with urgency.

Dr Gillian Rowe, child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University Hospital of the West Indies, says that the monitoring and supervision of children in Jamaica is widely neglected.

Crucial factor

"We have recently been told of two major incidents where the monitoring and supervision of children has been called into question," she tells The Sunday Gleaner. "Increased monitoring by caregivers often may be the crucial factor in protecting children from harm. As a society, we all bear the responsibility as caregivers for our nation's children," argues Rowe.

"In other countries, schools play an aggressive role in monitoring and protecting children both while at school and in travelling to and from school. Simply providing a safe means of transportation to and from school (such as school buses) may prevent children from harm," Rowe adds.

According to Rowe, children who attend school on the shift system need to be protected and monitored. The shift system, she notes, while allowing more children to attend school, also allows children and adolescents large blocks of unsupervised time during the day when they are not in school and their parents/caregivers are at work.

States Rowe: "Some countries have programmes which provide supervision, care and monitoring for children (and adolescents) outside of school hours while their parents are at work. Studies done by Harvard researchers have shown that such programmes increase children's (adolescents') academic achievement and also prevent youth from becoming involved in antisocial behaviours, such as joining criminal gangs and abusing drugs."

Meanwhile, Children's Advocate Mary Clarke says the system, as it relates to reporting crimes against children, needs to be examined.

"The Sex Offenders Register needs to be finalised and expedited, and it is time to consider harsher penalties for child offenders," Clarke notes.

She also identifies a need for "more interagency collaboration with less turf protection in the interest of the children of Jamaica, as we see in the report of the auditor of child protection in Jamaica".

The children's advocate also recommends community parenting - with neighbours willing to look out for each others' children.

"We appeal to communities and families to set good examples for their children, teaching children to protect themselves, as well as about abuse, and when and how to report abuse," Clarke adds.

Clarke also points to the issue of rehabilitation: "It has been proven that the abused today becomes the abuser tomorrow. Are we doing enough rehabilitation of our abused and violated population, especially those in institutions?"

Awareness campaigns

Faith St Catherine, a counsellor attached to the Women's Resource and Outreach Centre, believes that public awareness campaigns must address the importance of children in community life.

"In some cultures, children are most important and fed first. Here, we feed the men first and children receive what is left; children are not the most important persons," says St Catherine. "There is a lot of legislation in place to protect children, but people are not aware of the rights of children and the responsibilities of adults towards children," adds St Catherine.

She also points out that although there is legislation which prohibits children under a certain age from vending, it is not enforced. "Although there is legislation in place, the parents say they need the money," comments Clarke.

avia.ustanny@gleanerjm.com