Be vigilant for child neglect – social worker urges

Persons charged with the care and protection of the nation’s children are being reminded to remain vigilant especially for cases of potential neglect when conducting assessments to determine cases of child abuse.

This reminder was given by Kevan Glasgow, Social Worker at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH), during an interview to mark the close of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month observed by local stakeholders during the month of April.

For 2023 and 2024, statistics from the Ministry of National Mobilization revealed that neglect and abandonment topped the list of reported cases of child abuse. This category accounted for 43 percent of the cases in 2023, and in 2024, it made up more than 50 percent of the cases.

“As medical social workers, we are often on the front line in terms of abuse coming through the hospital services. We see different forms of abuse. Often times we neglect that form of abuse called neglect- that is a critical area too as well. Whether it is along the lines of malnutrition, general personal hygiene – all of these things speak to harm. So it is critical that we don’t overlook or downplay neglect,” Glasgow said on WEFM’s ACTIVATED morning Programme on April 30, 2025.

Glasgow said a variety of cases present at the hospital, many of which can carry only “subtle” hints of abuse and it requires that medical officials pay keen attention to how the child behaves.

“We see a variety of different things coming through the hospital and we need to understand that it can be very subtle… in their [doctors] overall review it is important to pay attention to the body language, to how the child responds.”

Ministry officials, during activities to launch the month, also revealed that nearly a quarter of the reported cases for 2024 related to sexual abuse.

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