THERE is a renewed call for an end to Jamaicans using physical and psychological abuse of children as discipline.

Parents are instead being urged to correct their children’s misdeeds using non-violent means and to seek support offered by the Government through the National Parent Support Commission (NPSC) if they need help to cope.

Many Jamaicans justify beating their children by pointing to the Bible verses Proverbs 23:13-14 which state: “Withhold not correction from the child. For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, And shalt deliver his soul from hell.” (NKJV).

But permanent secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Education Dr Kasan Troupe says this forms part of the sub-culture of abuse in Jamaican homes which is described as “discipline”.

Dr Troupe, who was speaking last Wednesday at the national preparatory session for the inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on the Ending of Violence Against Children, at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew, said violence in homes is being manifested in the behaviour of students, as was evident by the increase in violent incidents before the end of the last school year.

“We can no longer stay silent because it effects how we coexist in our schools, in our churches, in our communities, in our workplaces, it does not stay in one place because it is what we know that we do. And so when you hear the call for the change at the home level, we need to amplify that call together. We don’t need to be justifying that it is a private space because it does not stay there. Whatever happens in the home, comes into our schools, they come into our churches, et cetera,” added Dr Troupe.

She told a captive audience that she was impacted by violence in her younger years growing up in the inner city when she witnessed the death of her 13-year-old cousin who was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting.

According to Dr Troupe, ridding the society of violence starts with how Jamaicans parent their children.

“We really have to get into the homes, we really have to get at the hearts of the parents because they sometimes don’t know that they are perpetuating the violence. And that’s a sad part of abuse, we become perpetrators without knowing,” said Dr Troupe.

She called on parents to seek support from the NPSC which has more than 400 parent mentors at different locations across the country.

“I believe as a society, we have grown to understand the value of psychological care and mental well-being of individuals. We have far more to go…but I believe we have come to understand the value and importance of this and it’s nothing to be ashamed of if you need to talk it out, talk it out. If you need somebody with some other skills to help you see things differently, let’s access that,” she said.

State minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Alando Terrelonge concurred with Dr Troupe as he argued that there needs to be “pushback against certain cultural norms, if it is that we are to end the physical, emotional, and psychological abuse and violence that is perpetrated against innocent children every single day”.

Terrlonge pointed out that statistics show that in Jamaica the majority of cases of violence and abuse against children happens in the homes.

“Violence begets violence, and if we raise our children with violence, then we are raising a nation of perpetrators of violence and the cycle of violence continues. And so whilst there are some who will say, ‘but ah my pickney, ah me fi grow them, ah me born them and me can take them out if me want,’ no one is indicating that you can’t discipline your children, what we are indicating is positive discipline, discipline with love.

“Discipline does not mean you ago pick off the branch of the ackee [tree] and murder them with lick…discipline does not mean using the sort of verbal or psychological abuse to tell a child that they are worthless or a johncrow, ‘me wish you never did born, or mi shoulda did kill you when me a born you’,” added Terrlonge as he argued that discipline is meant to correct, not to shame, embarrass, humiliate, or to leave physical scars.

In the meantime, while lauding the strides Jamaica has made in putting legislation, policies and programmes in place to protect the rights of children, head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Jamaica Office, Olga Isaza said there is more work to be done.

She pointed to the recently released multi-indicator cluster survey conducted by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), with support from UNICEF, which revealed concerning statistics about the well-being of children in Jamaica.

“The survey found that more than 106,000 children aged one to four years old experienced violent discipline at home…This is a large cohort whose adverse childhood experience will no doubt have a severe impact on their development.

“The survey also highlights that approximately 76 per cent of Jamaican children between one and 14 years old, have experienced violent discipline, which includes physical punishment and psychological aggression,” said Isaza.

“In other words, about seven out of every 10 children have faced psychological aggression, as a form of discipline. This statistic should concern all of us. I am sure you are aware that the violence against children has profound and far-reaching impacts on the physical, emotional and psychological well-being. Exposure to violence can lead to long-term health problems, developmental delays, lack of self esteem and emotional trauma.

“It is also known that the children who experience violence are the greatest risk of developing mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, the normalisation of violent behaviour can hinder their social development and educational achievement perpetuating a cycle of violence that extends into adulthood,” added Isaza.

She noted that UNICEF is advocating for legislative reform to end violence against children, including corporal punishment in all settings.

“This reform can establish clear enforceable standards for non-violence discipline and ensure accountability. This is not just about changing laws, but also about shifting cultural norms and attitudes towards positive parenting and non-violence forms of discipline,” she said.

According to Isaza, UNICEF is urging decision makers to scale up support and resources for parents by equipping them with the necessary skills, knowledge and techniques to better enable them to communicate, solve conflicts and establish boundaries through positive discipline, especially with adolescents.

Isaza said UNICEF is also advocating for an updated and budgeted national plan of action for an integrated response to children and violence.

“Even though the plan itself doesn’t solve the problem, it certainly establishes the way to continue the path towards the final objectives and it creates the opportunity to reinforce the coordination mechanisms and to strengthen the programmes and services to prevent and protect children from violence,” she said.

The global ministerial conference for which the country is preparing to participate in is scheduled to be held in November in Bogota, Columbia.

UNICEF Jamaica Representative Olga Isaza (left) has the attention of state minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Alando Terrelonge (centre, and immediate past president of National Secondary Students’ Council, Cavan Lewis, at the National Preparatory Session for the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, held at Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew last Wednesday

TROUPE…ridding the society of violence starts with how Jamaicans parent their children