Social Workers’ Association Calls For Breaking Of Silence On Child Abuse

The Jamaica Association of Social Workers (JASW) is calling on community members to speak out against acts of violence and abuse against vulnerable persons, particularly children.

“There is a culture of silence in our communities that needs to be broken, and all citizens have a part to play,” says Project Lead, Professionalisation and Regulation at the JASW, Warren Thompson, in an interview with JIS News.

He is encouraging citizens to look for red flags that a community member may be a child abuser and bring this to the attention of State agencies for the necessary action to be taken.

“Take the concerns of children seriously; conduct research about alleged perpetrators and look for signs of child sexual grooming and other inappropriate interactions between adults and children,” Mr. Thompson advises.

He commends the efforts of the Government in strengthening the child-protection framework, especially with the recent launch of the new 211, 24-hour child abuse-reporting helpline, which, he noted, is a welcome avenue through which citizens may report child-welfare concerns.

“However, gaps remain, such as the need to strengthen the role and operations of the Sex Offender Registry, with the necessary controls. This is a necessary step in helping communities to better safeguard children and other vulnerable groups from acts of sexual violence,” he contends.

Recommending measures that can be undertaken at the community level, Mr. Thompson says the JASW is calling for the proactive engagement of community development committees, where there is a designated body with systems designed to prevent and respond to predators and acts of violence.

In addition, local authorities and parish interagency networks are encouraged to set up child-protection committees to work in tandem with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) to strengthen the child-protection ecosystem in every parish, he says.

The 50-year-old JASW is a professional membership organisation for social workers, social work students, and other social service workers in Jamaica, with a vision to contribute to the creation of a just society through the promotion of healthy human relationships, equality, and social justice.

Its mandate is to serve vulnerable populations, and the entity works with employers, educational institutions, and community members, to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.

Social workers are trusted partners in helping people find positive ways to overcome the challenges they face, and build healthy, strong communities.

The job of a social worker can take many forms and include case workers, generalists, persons working in clinical/healthcare, administrators, policymakers/lobbyists, educators, and community activists.

They work with children, older adults, youth at risk, gang members, young mothers, inmates and their families, students in schools, people coping with loss, people struggling with challenges such as addiction, people with mental illness, people with chronic, acute, or terminal diagnoses, people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, families dealing with loss and change (neglect, abuse, displacement, violence), and communities at risk (violence, illiteracy, poverty).

Mr. Thompson says that the work of the JASW is rooted in a set of core values that are embraced by social workers throughout the profession’s history and include respecting the inherent dignity and worth of the person, recognising the central importance of human relationships, behaving in a trustworthy manner, and developing and enhancing their professional expertise.

He tells JIS News that the entity takes very seriously any allegations that a social worker has breached the JASW code of ethics and principles, while interacting with a client, particularly a minor.

As such, he is encouraging organisations that employ persons to carry out social-work functions, to conduct thorough background checks and character references for all employees, provide systems for ongoing training, support and supervision, and report any illegal activities or professional misconduct.

“These help to safeguard the JASW service users and clients,” he points out.

Mr. Thompson says that such due diligence in recruitment practices is important, as it ensures that persons are trained through an accredited social-work programme; are equipped with social work knowledge, skills, and practice modalities; and uphold the JASW’s Code of Ethics and, by extension, the Global Statement of Ethical Principles promulgated by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW).

“Professional social workers should also be willing and ready to share their certification with service users/clients when asked, as they have the right to know who is intervening in their private lives. These measures will help us to protect vulnerable groups from predators and unethical practices,” Mr. Thompson says.                                        Educational institutions are also encouraged to ensure that social-work students receive the best quality of training and ongoing psychological support, with supportive exit strategies, where students are unable to continue training.

The JASW range of services include social service consultation, professional training and development, employee assistance programme, social research, social-service consultation, international social-work tours to Jamaica, and overseas social-work student field (practicum) placement.