— CPA reports child abuse decrease by 26.5 per cent

By Rehana Ahamad

FOR the period January 2020 to October 2020, a total of 2,761 cases have engaged the attention of the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA). This is compared to 3,757 cases in 2019 and 4,368 cases in 2018. This 26.5 per cent decline in reported cases may seem like good news, but it is actually quite troubling.
“This, by no means signal a decrease in child abuse; it is more of under reporting due to children being more confined to the home environment,” said Ann Greene, Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA), addressing a virtual staff conference on Wednesday.
Year after year, schools have played a critical role in identifying and reporting cases of children being abused. As most schools remain closed due to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the school system has been eliminated as a critical partner in the fight against child abuse.

Meanwhile, an analysis of the figures show that an average of seven children are being abused daily, with Region One leading the charts of an abuse rate of 17.8 per cent, a figure which encapsulates all forms of abuse including sexual. It should be noted that Region Eight was the only region with an abuse rate of zero, but again, this does not mean that there are no victims in that region. It means that no cases were reported.
Most of the young victims are between the ages of eight and 13, representing 12.4 per cent of every 1,000 children. Children ages four to seven account for 10.6 per cent of all victims, followed by teenagers reflecting 9.5 per cent, and toddlers being 8.8 per cent.
Neglect continues to be the leading form of abuse committed against children, with toddlers being most affected. This is followed by sexual abuse.
“Factors for child abuse in COVID-19 are stress, anxiety, economic uncertainty, (poor) mental health and addiction,” the CPA Director asserted.

MOTHERS ARE LEADING PERPETRATORS

The leading perpetrators of abuse in all forms continue to be mothers who account for 51 per cent of all perpetrators, followed by fathers at 26 per cent. Strangers account for only one per cent of all perpetrators, reinforcing the fact that children are often abused by those they hold dearest.
“To think of a man setting fire to the house where his wife and two lovely young daughters are inside and burning them alive; I have not yet wrapped my head around that. Then to learn of the child that is fighting for her life in the hospital after being lashed on the head and tossed in the swamp, reportedly by her mother… these are the latest of the number of horror stories that gripped our attention during the year,” Greene pointed out.
Prominent attorney-at-law, Timothy Jonas, took to his Facebook page to point out the aforementioned cases and criticise the abuse of children being disguised as corporal punishment.

“Corporal punishment is a sanitised label for violence to children. It does not carry the stigma of ‘domestic violence’, but it is exactly the same thing. It is violence by the stronger against the weaker,” Jonas asserted. He lamented the fact that society often times enable violence.
“If we cannot interact without violence, without instilling into our loved ones fear of us, we are no different from the slave masters who once kept us in fear, and cowed us into obedience by the threat and application of violence. All are equal. All must be afforded dignity and freedom to live without fear,” Jonas maintained.
Meanwhile, Director Greene said that her agency, along with the entire Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has recognised the need for increased services and assistance for children and families at the community level. Such programmes, she noted, will be placed prominently on the Ministry’s 2021 agenda.
The CPA staff conference was hosted this year under the theme “We are in this together: working with children and families in the New Normal for 2021.” Greene commended her staff for their unwavering commitment towards the children of Guyana, even amid a pandemic.
It is hoped that the recent launch of the 914 hotline would inspire more persons to report cases of violence, especially those committed against children.