Justice Minister Urges JP’s to Be Proactive in Response to Child Abuse

Justice Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck, is urging Justices of the Peace (JP) to be proactive in their response to child abuse.

The Minister made the call during a virtual JP sensitisation session last evening (July 1), titled ‘A Discussion on Child Abuse in Jamaica’.

Speaking to the more than 300 participants, Minister Chuck lamented that children “are being abused and violated, and not only by other children but by adults who are there and are supposed to be protecting them”.

He pointed out that JPs, because of their work in communities, are in a good position to identify children at risk and seek the necessary interventions that are available through the Ministry.

“In every parish, we have a child diversion officer. If an adult comes with a child, the officers there can assist with psychological support and counselling where necessary. We also have restorative justice facilitators in every single parish to assist with conflict within the family,” Minister Chuck noted.

“I just want to urge all the JPs to be proactive and to please assist us in protecting our children in every community, in every parish right across Jamaica. We need to deter all incidents of abuse,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, recent figures from the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) show a decline in cases of child abuse from an average of 1,200 monthly before the COVID-19 pandemic to 400 in April 2020.

Chief Executive Officer at the CPFSA, Rosalee Gage Gray, in explaining the drastic decline said that “we believe that parents are at home more with their children during the period of lockdown and so children would be more protected there”.

“But we also know that children are abused by persons who are close to them within their communities and within their homes. We believe that they might not be having the avenues where they can make these reports,” she added.

Mrs. Gage Gray went on to remind JPs that they are a “cohort of duty bearers that the CPFSA wishes to partner with in assisting children at risk before they become in need of care and protection”.

“This can only be possible if we take an all-hands-on deck approach.

This is where various communities play the role of child protectors – from transport operators, educators, private sector and all persons looking out for our children,” she explained.