Headteachers, teachers need to report cases of Child Abuse

Sep 23, 2011 News

– Director of Child Services

As more emphasis continues to be placed on the issue of child care and protection, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security is currently observing “Child Protection Week 2011” under the theme “Community Partnerships for Child Protection”, as they aim to sensitise the public on their rights and responsibilities in any child’s life.
Director of Child Services, Ann Greene told Kaieteur News that while her agency continues to build community partnerships, a lot more needs to be done by schools.
Kaieteur News understands that most cases of child abuse in the education system are not reported to the agency since many schools try to contain the issue(s) and deal with the situation at their level.
“The law says if any teacher or professional that knows that a child is being abused, it is their duty to report it, and failing to do so, they could be legally sanctioned. The head-teacher is supposed to report cases; a lot needs to be done by the heads, and even other teachers. If a child is in school and needs to be investigated they can use the hotline number and they can remain anonymous,” Greene emphasised.
She explained that essentially there are not many school welfare officers, and there are over 150 schools in Region Four alone, however, her agency is striving towards ensuring that every region benefits from their expertise.
While the agency continues to build relationships with relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Guyana Police Force, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, society is also expected to play an integral role in the development and protection of the future generation.
Greene implored that effective and efficient referral systems in schools are necessary since teachers would be able to notice signs of abuse in most cases and should notify their heads who in turn are expected to notify the agency as soon as possible for immediate intervention.
Referral does not only mean sending someone to the agency, but to ‘follow up’ and ensure that the necessary steps are taken in the child’s life to protect him/ her.
“Many years ago child abuse was always there; it was covert and kept in the family. Today with all of the systems in place, levels of awareness are being raised, so if people say there is more child abuse now, it is not necessarily true. There is no baseline to measure that. Yes, there are increases in reports due to systems in place. There are programmes in schools that if children are abused they can know that they can report it. Every time a programme is done someone reports a case. Yet there are still a lot more cases unknown, because children are afraid to talk,” Green asserted.
‘Child Protection Week 2011’ commenced on September 18 and continues to tomorrow, September 24. Child Protection Week activities are being observed in 120 countries, to raise the level of awareness on issues related to children.

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Headteachers, teachers need to report cases of Child Abuse

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