-child protection unit steps in
Welfare officers attached to the Child Protection Unit of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MHSS) yesterday met with a 15-year- old girl who was severely beaten by her father at the family’s East Coast Demerara home on Wednesday.

The teen was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital on Wednesday morning for treatment after she was kicked, cuffed and repeatedly hit about her body by her father who also hurled abusive remarks.

According to an official attached to the Child Protection Unit of the MHSSS, the teenager and her mother met with social workers of the Ministry yesterday to have a discussion on the incident.

She said a formal assessment will be conducted by the Child Protection Services to determine the next course of action.

The official noted that in cases where a child is physically abused at the hands of a parent, such as the case in question, the child is usually  taken into formal care. She said the department would then select an individual, in most cases a relative such as an aunt, to act as guardian for the victim of such abuse.

Reports are that the teenager received a sound beating from her father on Wednesday morning and arrived at the hospital with blood oozing from her nose. She was treated and placed in the custody of social workers who liaise with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.

The police are said to be searching for the teen’s father who disappeared following the incident.