Child Abuse crisis?

A few days after the Family Services Division announced the commencement of its annual activities for Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention, we were greeted with the worse case scenario. A six-year-old child died at the hands of someone. There has been speculation, but the mother of the child is assisting the police with the inquiry.{{more}} It is sad news for all of us. Equally appalling is the news that there were 1,014 cases of child abuse reported in 2010. From figures of 380 in 2008 and 420 in 2008 and 2009, respectively, this must indeed be a crisis. And there could be many unreported cases.

Humanitarian plea

The spectre of child abuse will overwhelm us if we do nothing about it. We have to be our brothers’ keepers. Child abuse has been described as “the physical, emotional, sexual mistreatment or neglect of children”. As members of this Christian society, it behoves us to recognize abuse when we see it and not to keep it to ourselves, but to report it to the relevant authorities. You could be saving the life or prevent a life of misery for an unfortunate child. Your information would be treated confidentially. I know that many people are afraid to interfere, but then there are many parents who are not mentally fit to raise children.

Our treasures

Children did not ask to be born, and in many instances they are born to persons who are least able to care for them. There are many children born to teenage parents who could ill afford the financial strain and who are not emotionally prepared to raise a child. This is unfortunate, for our children are our treasures, the hope for the next generation. They are innocent and helpless and cannot always distinguish right from wrong.

Children could scream for what might appear to be no reason at all. They might throw tantrums to get attention because they have been neglected. Parents and caregivers have a duty to exercise patience, to be gentle and to guide the children under their care in the right path. A parent or any adult has no reason to hit back by causing injury and pain to a helpless child. A parent who cannot cope should indicate to the Family Services Division her inability to do so, and I am certain that arrangements could be made to help the child.

Speaking to adults

As adults, you have a serious obligation to raise the children in a happy loving environment. It is often said that persons who have had a difficult time in their childhood days are the ones who perpetrate crimes. If we accept this to be true, then crimes could be eradicated by giving a child a good experience. If we can also understand that the table could turn one day, then we can understand that we ought to treat our children with respect. I am referring to the time when the adult becomes a child again, so to speak. The child who was abused is now in control of your destiny. The Bible speaks of doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. Why then do we leave these innocent children to suffer? They have a whole lifetime to relive this bad treatment. Bad treatment begets bad treatment, and the worse thing you can do is show them how to pass it on. Some children have marks on their bodies to show the injuries they suffered in their childhood. I urge parents and caregivers to take good care of the children. Those persons who witness child abuse have an obligation to report it. Those children who died in that inferno did not have to die in that way if someone had intervened.

Ada Johnson is a solicitor and barrister-at-law.
E-mail address is: exploringthelaw@yahoo.com