THE rise in the number of reprisal killings which target children, has led Osbourne Bailey – a minister of religion – to theorise that the devious actions are linked to what he says is a resurgence of men with criminal links in the lives of their offspring.

“There has been a rise in the visibility of fathers in the lives of children and I am also noticing a consistent rise in the number of reprisals against children; the research is not yet done but I think there is a correlation,” the reverend told social workers, psychologists, church officials and representatives of various interest groups on Wednesday – the last of a two-day conference on “Children at Risk” at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

“It was bad enough when fathers were absent and you couldn’t identify child with parent; now that men are coming up and showing themselves, the reprisal numbers are going up.

“Children should be made to feel more safe because of their parents and not otherwise,” said Bailey, who is also the director of Victim Support in the Ministry of Justice.

He said between 2006 and 2008 of a total 398 children were killed in incidents linked to gang warfare and abductions.

In the meantime the Reverend said the “monster of crime”, with which Jamaica now grapples, “is the outcome of the level of risk children are being exposed to” and warned that this will further destabilise the country in years to come.

“We as far as policy is concerned for the care and protection of children seem to be ahead of other countries in the region, yet our children are largely unsafe. Our children know abuse, they don’t just hear about it. It is real for them,” he said.

“In 2006 Jamaica’s population was at 2.673 million. Children under 18 years of age make up 54.9 percent of Jamaica’s population. If one half of the nation is made up of children then potentially we are pointing to an entire nation that is at risk.

“So to all of us who feel safe since the definition for at risk is that they can cause harm down the road, this is not the time to feel safe. This is time to realise that one day if that monster rears up we are in big trouble,” he warned, pointing out that the youth population was rising.

Bailey also lamented the incidence of sexual crimes committed against children, noting that the level of under-reporting was cause for concern.

“Any figure you see reported for child sexual abuse every social worker knows it’s at least three to six times higher.We believe the numbers (relating to the number of rapes and cases of sexual abuse of children ) are not telling the truth. We believe it’s more,” he said, adding that children are victims of 70 per cent of the sexual crimes reported to the police.

In calling on the church to step up to the challenge, Bailey said churches need to “ensure that the reduction of risk to children becomes a national priority”.

“Some churches don’t know what is going on,” he said and urged Government to spend what is required to design risk-assessment tools instead of running to design interventions when the worst happens.

“There is nothing called sustainable development if our children are left behind,” he pointed out.

The ‘Children at Risk’ conference was a collaboration of the island’s churches and the international child advocacy organisation, Compassion International.