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CCNTV6
  • 9 months ago
As the Carnival season heightens, the Children's Authority is sharing the following advice - "Before you ramajay, make sure the children are okay". The Authority says, trends show an increase in child abuse reports around the Carnival period, with a total of over five thousand reports lodged for 2024. Rynessa Cutting has more.
Transcript
00:00It's a concerning trend associated with the carnival season.
00:04Over the years around carnival time, you know, parents who want to go out in carnival, enjoy
00:14themselves may tend to leave children by anyone that they have available to them or, you know,
00:22even take them to the hospital at the slightest thing to have them admitted so that they have
00:27the freedom to do what they want to do.
00:29I want to really encourage parents during the carnival time to be mindful of the spaces
00:34that you leave your children in.
00:36The trend has prompted the Children's Authority to advise the public to make sure the
00:40children are OK before you ramaje.
00:43If you're taking them to participate in carnival, make sure that they know how to
00:47identify a police officer, make sure that they know what to do if they get separated
00:52from you. Make sure they know their name, their address, make sure they know your name,
00:58your proper name and a contact number.
01:01The authority says 2024 saw an increase in child abuse reports, with well over 5000
01:08reports logged.
01:09So for the year 2024, we did record 5,457 cases, which was slightly increased from the
01:18previous year, 2023, which saw 5,227 cases of reported child maltreatment to the
01:26Children's Authority. We continue to see all forms of child maltreatment through our
01:31reports, with the highest number of reports coming for neglect.
01:37Followed by physical abuse or violence, then sexual abuse, then emotional or verbal
01:43abuse. Primary caregivers continue to be the top perpetrators.
01:48The Children's Authority is advising against corporal punishment.
01:52So the authority does not subscribe to the use of corporal punishment.
01:56When we think about punishment, we think about humiliation and inflicting pain or causing
02:01pain. And when we think about discipline, we think about guiding a child.
02:06We think about providing alternatives, teaching a child what is right from what is wrong
02:12and what are the consequences to certain actions.
02:15The authority says it only removes children from their homes if there is imminent danger
02:20posed to the child, as it also provides support services to parents and guardians to help
02:26them improve their parenting and circumstances.
02:29On Wednesday, the authority took three children into its custody after video surfaced of a
02:34man assaulting a child while holding a knife in his hand.
02:38The authority is urging members of the public to report all cases of child abuse, even
02:43suspected ones.
02:44So the hotline number is 996.
02:47And it's also important to note that a report can be made anonymously and we want to
02:53assure the public that we do investigate.
02:56Right. So our trained professionals will go into the community.
02:59They will do their investigations to substantiate the report before steps are taken.
03:06So I know a lot of people tend to be fearful.
03:09They don't want to get someone in trouble.
03:11If it's not a real if it's not a real concern, but we always see because it is the life of
03:17a child, because it is the health and well-being, the health and well-being of a child.
03:22We want to be on the side of caution and make those reports.
03:25Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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