Plans for a National Child Abuse Register in motion

The Family Affairs Division is seeking to establish a National Child Abuse Register.{{more}}

Cammie Matthews, the Director of the Family Services Division, explained that a central point for storing information will help the various organizations and stakeholders to better understand the magnitude of the social ills affecting the nation.

He told SEARCHLIGHT his division is hoping that this can be put in place as soon as it can complete the process of the Child Abuse Protocal and Reporting Guidelines which are being fine tuned by UNICEF.

The document strongly recommends that the Ministry of National Mobilization and the Family Affairs Division have one central point where reports of incidents can be documented.

“We are not in any way suggesting that unless you come to the Family Affairs Division that you cannot report,” said Matthews, noting that persons can also make complaints to the police, clinics, hospitals, or other relevant agencies.

Matthews said the document recommends that the Family Affairs Division be the bank which stores the data.

The information received will also be of great assistance to the policy makers, said Matthews.(HN)