Dear Reader,

There is an escalating pattern of violence against children that must be of concern to all of us and for which deliberate and urgent action is needed. Aside from the intermittent assortment of the more sensational stories of abuses and atrocities reported in the press, there is a silent coarsening of attitudes and actions towards the smallest and most vulnerable population of the country – our children. Perhaps the most frightening trend is sexual violence against children under 10 years of age, some of the victims being as young as five and six years old.

Among the growing types of offences is the practice of sexual abuse of adolescents. So widespread is the problem of the rape of teenage girls these days that the obvious conclusion must be that most of the cases are going unreported, and that the practice is becoming more and more accepted as a normal way of life.

My own organisation, Hear The Children’s Cry, is becoming increasingly overwhelmed with the cases of underage girls who are sexually active, some with multiple adult partners. Girls as young as 12 and 13 years old are confessing that they are having regular sex, many of them lured by men who entice them with things like cellphones and fast-food chicken combo meals. Of course, the most deplorable reality is that these adult men go un-apprehended and are walking around scot-free.

Intertwined with the sexual abuse issue is the problem of missing children. As the numbers grow, so too the perverse and twisted stories – teenagers abducted, gang-raped and impregnated while missing; cases of teenage girls contracting sexually transmitted infections while missing from home , and in all the cases, none of the children pursuing their education while missing.

The problem of missing children has now reached epidemic proportions. Already in the first two months of this year over 300 children have been reported missing, some as young as seven and eight years old. Not only are the reports becoming more frequent, but the length of time that children are going missing is also increasing. Whereas before children would be reported missing for a few days, the trend we’re now seeing is that they go missing for months on end. Another worrying trend is that there are more and more cases of multiple missing reports for the same child.

As the problem mounts, it is clear that much more needs to be done beyond the recent announcement made by the Acting Commissioner of Police of the establishment of a missing persons call centre. If the authorities are serious about effectively addressing the problem, mechanisms must be put in place to carry out home investigations and follow-ups to ascertain the source and scope of the problem.

The rape and sexual abuse of children under 10 years old is now emerging as yet another chapter in the sick and sordid story of violence against children. Last Thursday this newspaper reported the case of a five-year-old allegedly raped and given a vaginal infection by a 48-year-old man. The report stated that “The rastaman…allegedly sexually assaulted the minor last December when the child was left in his care by her mother..It is further alleged that the child did not inform her mother, who two months later noticed that she was secreting a yellow discharge. It was then that the mother was informed about the incident.” The report stated that the accused was given bail in the amount of $200,000.

Only three months ago on January 27, this newspaper also reported a case of a nine-year-old girl whose accused rapist was set free by the court. It stated “A 30-year old St. Andrew musician was yesterday acquitted in the Home Circuit Court of raping the nine-year old niece of his best friend”. The report added that “Though the musician was acquitted by a jury of his peers, Justice Majorie Cole-Smith found it necessary to chastise and warn him, noting that he was acquitted on account of the skill of his attorney. During the trial, Defence Attorney Peter Champagnie pointed out to jurors that no medical evidence was presented by the prosecution to substantiate its claim of sexual assault.”

One of the glaring gaps in the law is the absence of compulsory DNA testing for accused child molesters. Under the Child Care and Protection Act the judge may order medical testing, but it is not mandatory.

In a response to several troubling cases involving minors, Hear The Children’s Cry in a recent press release accused the state of appearing lenient towards child sexual offenders as well as foot-dragging on vital new legislation. Citing a case where an accused rapist of a six-year-old girl was given bail, the organisation pointed out that the freed man proceeded summarily to his home where the alleged rape took place and located next door to the child he was accused of raping. The child’s mother reported that her little girl, upon seeing the man, ran screaming and urinated on herself as she fled. The question that must be asked of our judges is, who ensures that the monitoring of the movements of sexual offenders takes place when they are granted bail?

Hear The Children’s Cry is also questioning why the Sexual Offences Act that passed both houses of Parliament is still sitting on the Justice Minister’s desk awaiting a date to be affixed so that it can become law. The delay is especially vexing because the urgently needed Sex Offenders Registry is also caught up in the delay at the Justice Ministry.

It is high time that every single Jamaican speaks loudly and consistently about the violence being perpetrated against our children, and insists that the judiciary, the legislature and all other branches of government work effectively in the best interest of our children. It is troubling that this is not being demonstrated at this time.

With love,

bab2609@yahoo.com