WITH cases of child abuse stubbornly remaining at the 15,000 mark several years in a row, head of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency’s (CPFSA) Investigation Unit Ericka Gilbert-Hope has warned that crimes against children have worsened by degrees, with the outcome being a spike in behavioural problems among youngsters.

“The abuses got worse, they got more severe [during the COVID-19 pandemic] when the children were locked in — and it has continued. The cases are many; they are more complex, and because of that we are seeing an increase in behavioural problems. We are trying to see how best we can reach those children,” Gilbert-Hope told the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday.

The CPFSA Investigation Unit receives reports from the National Children’s Registry and other entities, and carries out social enquiry investigations to determine the best approach for children who have been sexually or physically abused, abandoned, or neglected.

In 2023 alone, 20 children were killed by the gun, six by knives, one by stoning, three under other tragic circumstances, and 49 were victims of grievous sexual assault.

Since the start of 2024, nine have been killed by the gun, two by the knife, and two under other tragic circumstances. Between January 2023 and May 14 this year, nine Jamaican children between the ages of nine and 17 took their own lives, according to the unit. In 2022, four children committed suicide.

Describing the unit she heads as “a trauma centre” Gilbert-Hope said, “behavioural problems are now at crisis level in Jamaica. We have children who are running away from home habitually; children who are just defiant; we have a lot of suicidal ideation cases, children who are cutting themselves and self-harming; children who are going to school not returning home or returning late, being disrespectful to their parents — we have a lot of those now, a whole lot; fights and antisocial behaviour”.

Gilbert-Hope, in noting the increase in cases where family members are the main perpetrators of child sex abuse, pointed out that such victims tend to require interventions at an elevated level.

“Who did the act helps to determine the level of trauma. When a child is sexually molested by a father, in comparison to when a child is molested by a complete stranger, it is more difficult for them to benefit from counselling interventions because it’s your father who you should trust, so it’s kind of harder to cope with what happened. So, it depends on who the perpetrator is,” she told the Observer.

In the meantime, in opining that Jamaican children are reeling from the negative impact of poor parenting, Gilbert-Hope is calling for antenatal workshops to form part of prenatal clinic offerings.

“One of the things I am really not seeing by the various organisations — not the CPFSA, because we have been out there, we have been trying our best to reach the parents as best we can — from where I sit I can tell you categorically that the lack of proper parenting is a serious crisis. The children are being negatively impacted,” she said.

“If we could get some antenatal parenting workshops at the prenatal clinics — targeting the parents from that level before the child is here because there is no manual. So when they go to the antenatal clinics during that same time is when we should target our parents, teaching them good parenting skills: what to expect, what not to expect; how to function as a parent. If we could focus on that level, I believe we would be on the right track,” she theorised.

Gilbert-Hope also pointed to the need for sober lyrics in entertainment offerings.

“Another thing I think is a problem is the kind of music. Being in the communities and seeing the children and adults, including parents, and the kind of music promoting violence and sexually inappropriate behaviours being promoted via music, and the children are there and the parents are listening there with them. So, parents and the entertainment artistes need to be held accountable,” Gilbert-Hope stated.