JAMAICAN CHILDREN IN DIRE NEED OF POSITIVE INFLUENCE
CHILDREN’S Advocate and the National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking Diahann Gordon Harrison has made an impassioned plea to adults to respond to the call of duty and do whatever they can to positively impact the lives of children.
Gordon Harrison was speaking on Saturday at the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston’s prayer breakfast under the theme ‘Our Children...building Blocks of Hope’.
The prayer breakfast also honoured three early childhood educators – Marilyn Belnavis, principal of Roehampton Basic School; Valerie Anderson, principal of Faith Builders Early Childhood Institution; and Verna Gordon, principal of Elim Early Childhood Development Centre.
The event had a series of intercessory prayers for children, parents, teachers, women and our nation done by Elder Winston Rowe, Janet Lawrence, Beryl Allen and Pastor Dr Patricia Holness.
Gordon Harrison further pointed out that even where a child does not outwardly express the need for guidance, it is for adults, because of their knowledge and experience, to inherently recognise this fact and to simply rise to the occasion as responsible people in these children’s lives.
“Our Jamaican context provides a solid example of just how true this is, as many of our children today are in crisis and are in dire need of that steady and positive adult influence in their lives to turn things around for them..
“We hear it on the news daily. Children are victims of sexual abuse even at the hands of their protector and confidante. They are violated in their safe havens and by those who they, or their parents, trust. Statistics bolster this reality,” Gordon Harrison said.
The children’s advocate cited statistics from 2012 which showed that in relation to sexual abuse, in that year, 1,147 children were abused in their own homes when compared to 10 who were abused in a deserted location. She said another 472 were reported as being abused at the offender’s home.
“So what do the statistics tell us? Gone are the days we would tell children, ‘Don’t talk to strangers because it is the stranger alone who will harm you,’ ‘Don’t walk on the deserted road because it is the man who is lurking in the bushes who is going to pull you aside and harm you.’ We have to now expand that narrative to tell our children that they need to trust their instincts.
“So if Uncle so and so is making you feel uncomfortable it is better to err on the side of caution and move away from Uncle so and so and tell somebody else who can give you that support. If godfather so and so is looking at you in a provocative way, heed it and trust that instinct. Don’t think it’s just men because if Aunty so and so – and we have the reports to substantiate that women are in fact abusing our children sexually – it means we have to now widen the dialogue, because children are coming to harm at the hands of those in whom they have invested much trust,” she emphasised.
Further, Gordon Harrison said the acts of violation are not limited to sexual abuse, but encompass a wide range of infractions to include physical abuse, instances of child trafficking, child labour, children who are being neglected by parents, children who are in need of care and protection, children who are working on the streets.
“If we look at the eightyear period from 2000 to 2008, it provides a very good example of how our children are violated. They feature as victims of very serious crimes. In that eight-year period of 2000 to 2008 we saw 6,489 victims of rape and carnal abuse... we saw 382 children who were murdered in Jamaica and 392 who were victims of shooting – but for the grace of God they didn’t succumb to those injuries.”
Additionally, Gordon Harrison said the old adage that children live what they learn is very much alive as later on children often carry out the same acts meted out to them.
“Not only do children in Jamaica feature as victims of crimes, they also are seen as perpetrators of crime – whether alleged or having gone through the entire criminal justice process and having been convicted for very serious crimes. So yes, cliché as it may be, children do live what they learn,” she said.
To emphasise this point, the children’s advocate said in 2001, 72 children between 12 to 18 years were charged for having committed murder, another 83 of them were charged for shootings and 98 were charged for acts of rape and carnal abuse.
“We need to turn this around. From where I sit, going back to basics is a critical part of the solution. Children model social behaviour and they learn from example. If they see a reaction without somebody telling them that this is the way to go... it becomes their reality,” she said.
“They internalise things and if psychosocial support and genuine interest isn’t given to them or provided to them by those around them, the seed will be planted for frightening or sad outcomes that we’ve begun to see... if we do not intervene in critical moments when children are hurting, they will act out. If they see others getting away with wrong they will think the same of themselves.”
Moreover, Gordon Harrison said simple solutions include recognising that although you cannot do everything alone as parents, start with your own children by nurturing them and supporting them the best way you can.
“We won’t always get it right as parents and guardians and adults in children’s lives, but we are the architects of tomorrow’s humanity and our building blocks that we must use effectively are the children with whom we have been blessed to work through,” she said.
To the honorees, Gordon Harrison said their commitment as stalwarts in the early childhood sector demonstrates that they fully understand the importance of this critical task that has been invested and entrusted to us all.