COORDINATOR for the Child Abuse Mitigation Project at the Bustamante Children’s Hospital (CAMP Bustamante), Rose Robinson-Hall has reaffirmed the need for parents to pay close attention to their children if the society is to win the fight against child abuse.

CAMP Bustamante, a component of the Ministry of Health’s Healthy Lifestyle Project, began in 2004 to treat children who are victims of abuse and violence.

“There are physical signs and behavioural signs that can alert a parent. The physical signs are difficulties sitting or walking, a discharge or bruises to the anal and vulva areas, walking funny, or torn and bloody underwear,” said Robinson-Hall.

She added that behavioural signs include changes in bowel habits, or a normally playful child becoming withdrawn.

“They might be afraid to be left alone, become very clingy, or they might behave in a sexually provocative way that is not consistent with their age. A child putting objects in her vagina is not a good sign. Some children act out or act in,” she said. “You get the hyper-arousal, the anxiety, the frozen fear. Some children regress. They start to wet the bed or they might start sucking their finger. Some children might become depressed and have ideas about suicide.

Others might become aggressive and start to fight a lot.”

Once these signs are observed, she urged caregivers to keep a cool head as it is to them that children look for support. The next step is to take the child to a medical doctor for examination and treatment, and then to report the incident to the relevant authorities, she said.

CAMP Bustamante has, since its inception, dealt with 784 cases of child abuse, representing an average of 22 cases per month. Robinson-Hall said the programme had largely been a success, with less than 10 of the cases returning to the hospital.

In 2005, there were 346 reported cases of carnal abuse, in addition to 19 cases of incest and 32 cases of buggery even as 75 children were numbered among the 1,674 persons murdered during the year.

The project gets its referrals from the hospital’s accident and emergency’s database system called the Jamaica Injury Surveillance Survey. In some cases, a doctor or a nurse, records clerk and janitors, may make a referral.

Once a case is referred, steps are taken to allay the impact of the abuse. A social worker will visit the child’s home and school environment, to talk with their teachers, parents or guardians. Their homes are also visited and the social worker assesses the protective and risk factors.

A determination is thereafter made about the child’s safety, based on the strengths and risks. Where there are signs of traumatic stress or psychological dysfunction, children are referred to the Child Guidance Clinic for mental health screening, evaluation and or therapy.

In “low risk” cases, the focus is on the changes that must be made to the child’s environment to prevent a recurrence of the abuse and to help the child to heal. In such cases, a social worker will continue to visit the home.

“Home visitation is a very effective way of offering support and assistance to parents because you work with them in their environment and the solutions that are made are relevant to their context, so the chances of sustaining the change is greater,” Robinson-Hall said.

To help the children heal, they are placed in programmes where they attend Saturday classes and summer camps at the University of Technology, the Multi Care Foundation and the Junior Centre of the Institute of Jamaica. The programmes give the children the chance to express themselves through the creative and culinary arts.