SOCIAL scientists were almost begging citizens, the government and children’s agencies on Wednesday to act together to establish institutions that function full-time to address the safety of children who are being “savagely abused”.

The appeal came at the first of a two-day conference at the Jamaica Conference Centre to share findings of a survey by the Youth Wellness Centre model project on The Adolescents of Urban St Catherine: A Study of their Reproductive Health and Survivability.

The study, which examined the survivability of 410 adolescent boys and girls living in more than 33 communities in urban St Catherine who lived in poor, near poor and non-poor conditions, for comparative analysis, revealed that:

. the youth of poor urban communities are experiencing crises far higher than previously announced in other fora;

. urgent steps need to be taken to address the plight of adolescents of inner cities in the study and the entire urban Jamaica; and that

. the crises are not peculiar to Spanish Town and South St Catherine, based on observations in other areas of Kingston.

Lead researcher and presenter of the research findings, Herbert Gayle, a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, made an impassioned plea Wednesday for the government to invest in the education of the children whom, he declared are in a “clear struggle for life”.

The introduction of the 277-page report – referring to one of the stories told by the children – states that a “little boy identifies five boys who were shot in the legs by the don for disobedience, then with tears in his eyes ask (the researchers) to take him home with them.”

The report states that “evidence uncovered” indicates that there is an urgent need for rescuing the children.

That rescue, it said, must come through comprehensive life skills programmes that teach personal development, economic survival, interpersonal relations and reproductive health to equip adolescents with the skills to plan for the future.

In retelling the stories of some of the children, Gayle quoted from an area don, who is educated and has a degree in sociology.

“. if Maxine or Whiteman keep them in school, I wouldn’t have to shoot them in the legs to keep them out of my business.”

The names referred to Education minister Maxine Henry-Wilson and Senator Burchell Whiteman, the former education minister who now has the information portfolio.

Areas of the survey which focused on the economic and social conditions of the household, whether a child was in or out of school and when and why a child drops out of school, revealed that school attendance was the most critical factor impacting the survival of the children.

The child in school had better quality meals and a stable consistent schedule for meals while the most vulnerable were always anxious about food security.

Gayle noted, however, that in Portmore he had met some students he called “hungry heroes”, who stayed in school despite being hungry, because they were motivated to by their own achievements of maintaining grades of 70 per cent or over.

In relation to the role of the parents, the study indicated that where the father was absent or marginally employed, the children did not see him as head of the household, and would more likely be asked to leave by the working mother.

In circumstances where the converse applied – of a single father parenting a child – that child was more likely to be out of school and, if male, more likely to be violent.

Eliciting a clear gasp of shock from the participants, it was revealed that the number one abuser of children was the mother, but even more shocking was that the second abuser was the female teacher.

Following the presentation, the experts in their remarks appeared impatient and cynical, saying the results of the study were nothing new and decrying the fact that over the years little has been done to change the status quo.

They also said that there were too many “stop and starts”, duplication and a lack of cohesiveness in the approaches that have been implemented over the years to deal with children’s survival.

The experts on the discussion panel comprised Dr Kim Scott-Fisher, an expert in adolescent health; Dr Fred Hickling, psychiatrist; and Dr Peter Weller, psychologist at the University of the West Indies.

“I have been working at this for 40 years,” said Hickling, clearly frustrated.

“I want the transformation in every area of the island (now) – not when I am dead.”

Added Weller: “If we are going to have an impact, we must make it through an effort of collaboration.”

In addition, Weller suggested that a family life education programme be introduced in schools to help children handle the threats they face on a daily basis.

Health Minister John Junor, who gave the keynote address, and Robyn Braverman, visiting representative of the UK-based organisation Save the Children Fund, lauded Claudette Richardson-Pious, executive director of Children First for the agency’s achievements since its establishment in 1989.

Junor also acknowledged the critical state of violence and the impact on Jamaica’s children and urged that the Youth Wellness Centre model be duplicated nationally.

The model was developed in a two-year pilot project conducted by Children First in collaboration with the guidance counsellors and principals of the schools and parents of the respondents that participated in the study; United Nations Children’s Fund, UN Food and Population Fund, Youth.now, Ministry of Health, the Bureau of Women’s Affairs and the National Family Planning Board.

The conference ended yesterday.

– dorothyc@jamaicaobserver.com