As the month of April – designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month comes to an end, it does not mean that our fight against child abuse has finished.

Child Abuse Prevention is everybody’s business and should be a continual process.

The month of April was simply used to bring extra sensitisation and awareness of Child Abuse in an effort to help reduce the occurrences and eventually put an end to this dreaded ill.

According to the Social Development Report of 2007, there were 40 reported cased of Child Abuse and Neglect.

Of those 40 cases, 18 were reports of alleged neglect, 12 of sexual abuse, eight of physical and two of verbal abuse.

One case of abuse is too many. And the cases have been disturbing and should call for concern.

Bear in mind, that these are only reported cases of abuses and neglect. The figure can be much higher since many incidents go unreported for various reasons.

This is where we as a community and people have a role to play to ensure that our children are safe from all forms of abuse and neglect.

The V.I. StandPoint in collaboration with the Social Development Department put together a special supplement on Child Abuse Prevention.

The document contains valuable information for parents, guardians, and everyone concerned, in an effort to promote awareness and reduce child abuse.

Our role as a people is to stomp the problem in its root.

As parents, we need to be more aware and concerned with our children’s well being. Whether it means controlling our temper in times of disciplining our children, giving our children the love and affection they so deserve or listening to them attentively and observing them for any signs of abuse.

The faith community has its role to play to ensure it offers needed guidance and counseling for church members. The faith community also needs to ensure that their staff and volunteers are properly trained to recognise, report and prevent child abuse.

As a community, we need to be our brother’s keeper. Look out for each other’s children.

Most abuses takes places within our communities but go unnoticed.

Being vigilant and aware of what is child abuse and neglect can help us to identify such occurrences in our community and report to the relevant authority.

We can all make a difference in Child Abuse Prevention.

As the Minister for Health and Social Development Dancia Penn-Sallah pointed out in her Child Abuse Prevention Message, “Child protection is my responsibility, its your responsibility, its our responsibility”.

She also rightly pointed out that keeping our children safe at home, school and the wider community, takes the involvement, commitment and dedication of the entire community.

Let each of us pledge today, to do everything we can to stop Child Abuse and Neglect.

As the theme for this year Child Abuse Prevention Month suggests, “Together we can break the Chains of Child Abuse in our Community”.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment