Boy, oh boy!
Published:Monday | May 10, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter
Children's Advocate Mary Clarke has urged Jamaicans to "target our boys" for urgent intervention.
Clarke, who was a guest at a Gleaner Editors' Forum last Friday, said the statistics relating to young boys were worrying, adding that it was essential that the country go back to the drawing board on parenting strategies.
"We have to resocialise our mothers in how they bring up sons; we have to resocialise our fathers so that they will own their children and take care of them," Clarke said during the forum, which was held at The Gleaner's North Street, central Kingston, offices.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Bruce Golding said a parenting deficit was at the centre of some of Jamaica's social problems.
Addressing Parliament, the prime minister promised to "send a signal to parents that if you are not prepared to honour your obligation to your children, then don't have them".
punishment for parents
Hinting at tougher legislation, Golding said:"We are going to have to start making it clear that the discharge of parental respon-sibility for children is not an option."
Registrar at the Office of the Children's Registry (OCR), Carla Edie, told panellists at the forum that boys have figured in many of the reports made to the registry - either as offenders or victims.
battered boys
Edie told the Editors' Forum that reports made to the registry indicate that many boys are being subjected to physical abuse. She said most of the nearly 3,000 reports of child abuse involved male victims.
Dozens of boys are suspected to have been buggered between 2007 and 2009. Edie said 59 reports have been made to the registry in accordance with the Child Care and Protection Act.
Many boys are offenders too. OCR statistics indicate that boys are responsible for the majority of substance abuse and truancy cases.
Extrapolated, the challenges confronting boys appear to be taking a toll on their academic performance.
According to data published by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, of the 636,800 males in the labour force at the end of October last year, 479,700 had not passed a single external examination. On the other hand, 266,300 of the 476,600 females in the workforce do not hold any form of certification.
Data published by the Office of the Children's Advocate indicate that as at November 4, 2009, there were 61 juveniles in police custody, 58 of whom were males.
Last Friday, Clarke said it was the job of all Jamaicans to ensure that children grow up to achieve their full potential.
Bemoaning the dangers facing at-risk children, Clarke said it was time the country put in place "enough mechanisms to target those at risk and treat them before they become perpetrators".