Revealing Jamaica's soul - Stacey's story is not uncommon

This is the third in a series of columns by Jamaicans for Justice in commemoration of Child Month.

It was lunchtime when Stacey'scaregiver, Ms Allen, instructed her to eat outside with the other wards. When Stacey refused and began cursing, Ms Allen snapped: "Doan use dat language at me, enuh; use dem afta ua madda who make yu deh ya suh ... . If yo madda did love yu, shi wouldn't mek yu deh ya suh."

Stacey's reply, suffice it to say, was equally biting.

Ms Allen responded by forcefully pushing Stacey's head down, as if attempting to force her under her skirt. Stacey resisted, and a fight erupted. Ms Allen bit Stacey's leg, and Stacey hit her in the eye. At one point, Ms Allen grabbed a spoon from the kitchen to strike her ward. Though one of the managers started to intervene, the outraged girl also began to fight her: she, too, ended up taking the spoon from Ms Allen and slapping Stacey in the back.

Stacey was left nursing bruises and impressions of Ms Allen's teeth. She received no medical attention, and was charged with assault. Neither of her caregivers was reprimanded.

In Jamaica's facilities, a critical incident report is filed whenever one of four events occurs: when a child is abused, injured, falls seriously ill, or dies. Between 2006 and 2010, no fewer than 500 of them were logged.

Though these reports cover a wide range of incidents, one consistent theme emerges between many of them: physical abuse. During this period, 344 instances of physical abuse took place within Jamaican facilities. One hundred and sixty-one of these incident reports - almost 47 per cent of abuse cases - detail a staff member physically attacking a child.

They also reveal that offenders risk immediate consequences no worse than verbal reprimand, and that investigations and follow-up actions are unacceptably slow. In one instance, a staff member was only dismissed after repeatedly abusing charges from 1997-2010: a period of 13 years.

TURNING A BLIND EYE

Recently, Simon Crosskill hosted Minister Lisa Hanna and CDA executive Ms Carla Francis-Edie on CVM's Live at 7. The two women appeared on the show to respond to allegations of inaction on children's rights issues. Both figures fervently defended the system and their efforts to improve it; their cases, however, were based on dubious claims.

At one point, Ms Francis Edie suggested that many of the issues were outdated; that her agency had succeeded in making improvements, but that its efforts had somehow gone unnoticed. In response to criticisms, she retorted: "A lot of times ... people make statements about things that happened nine years ago - but they have not taken the time to see the changes that have happened."

The data paint a different picture.

A March 2012 UNICEF report declared that children in state care were in danger. It cited physical abuse, widespread emotional and verbal maltreatment and disturbingly frequent sexual abuse.

Earlier in the month, Live at 7 featured two local sources that echoed these sentiments: prominent human-rights advocates Carla Gullotta of Stand Up for Jamaica, and Moira Morgan of the Griffin Trust. Both work closely with children and both spoke of experiences within the last two years. Their indictments were severe: they recalled being banned from facilities after speaking up on behalf of wards and finding children begging to be taken away from institutions.

At one point in the joint interview, Gullotta referred to the well-worn government line of praising children as "Jamaica's future". After reviewing the stories presented, she raised a poignant question: "What kind of future are you building with this?"

UNSATISFACTORY ANSWERS

Ms Francis-Edie's casual dismissal of the grave concerns voiced by advocates speaks to a troubling unwillingness to admit to the CDA's failures. When confronted with evidence of inadequate care, her first instinct is to point to reams of children's rights legislation.

The impulse is not entirely unwarranted: theoretically, our children are protected. Jamaica's Child Care and Protection Act dictates that child abusers are fined up to J$1 million or sentenced to hard labour for up to five years. On paper, we do take a hard line on child abuse; in real life, however, paper is a poor shield against a warden's blow.

Our administration should bear in mind that ineffective legislation will not mollify rising public concern for much longer. The problem of child abuse is far from solved: to pretend otherwise will only ensure that the violence and cruelty that we have dealt to these children will soon be returned twofold.

Names changed to protect identities.

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