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Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, has disclosed that within the last year 463 cases of child abuse have been reported. Of this number, 126 were of a sexual nature.
These startling figures were revealed on Wednesday during the 2023/2024 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure debate in Parliament, where Humphrey, who recently supported the new Child Protection Bill, said that the figures of abuse cases being reported to the Child Care Board, have been worrying.
“The Child Care Board over the course of the last few years has been dealing with cases of abuse. In the period 2019 to 2020, there were 495 cases of abuse of children. In 2020 to 2021 437 cases of abuse reported; in 2021 to 2022, 538 cases, and between April 2022 and January 2023, 462 cases of abuse.”
He added: “If you consider last year, the sexual abuse cases last year were 126…that is a sexual abuse case every three days. Therefore the legislation that is guiding the ministry, must be legislation that is fit-for-purpose.”
Under the proposed legislation, a person found to be engaging in cruelty or abuse towards a minor, will be “liable on summary conviction to a fine of $100 000 or to imprisonment for a term of 10 years or to both”.
The 2023-24 Estimates Debate on Wednesday also heard that discussions with a wide range of agencies have already taken place regarding the mandatory reporting of child abuse cases, which forms part of the pending Child Protection legislation.
In response to a question during the debate from Member of Parliament for St Philip North, Dr Sonia Browne, Director of the Child Care Board, Roseann Richards, told the Lower House that, “There is a section of the new legislation that outlines the personnel who will deal with such matters, ranging from parents, medical practitioners, mental health professionals, teachers, social workers, the police and those who collect data from the Internet if the incident is, for whatever reason, posted there
“In terms of the school system, presently if teachers suspect one of their students is in an abusive situation, they can report the matter to the guidance counsellor who will then speak to the student, and from there the principal will address it and report to the Child Care Board or law enforcement if necessary.”
When asked whether further training will be provided for the parties involved, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, stated that “We have been discussing the matter with the Ministry of Education and Cabinet has agreed that training should be provided for the various stakeholders, and we have already started the discussion process. For example, in October 2022 there was a workshop held for members of the Barbados Police Service on how to treat to child abuse cases.”
Dr. Browne also queried what provisions were being made for children who had ‘aged out’ of the island’s children’s homes, especially since the closure of the Stirling Children’s Home in her constituency which was being used for that purpose. Richards responded: “We are planning to start a new facility in Bullens in St. James, and will also be building one or two cottages that they can live in for a while until they find a more permanent residence.”
On the issues of domestic violence and child maintenance, Dr. Browne lamented that while “some of the measures sound good on paper” they are often not implemented.
“I have heard some women say they would rather become sex workers than deal with the Welfare Department. What is being done to address training? There was also a situation where a woman with five children was put out of a safe house because the person in charge complained that her children were too noisy.”
Chief Welfare Officer, Deborah Norville noted, “We have a Family Services section within the department that deals with marital breakdowns, child maintenance, child access and child custody, and we meet with the parties involved, give them counselling, and then prepare a report for the court, which will then be used to address these issues from a legal perspective.”
Addressing the topic of domestic violence, Programme Officer with the Bureau of Gender Affairs, William Warner, said that Government established a National Committee on Domestic Violence in 2019 comprising various agencies and that that group would be meeting shortly to devise an action plan.
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