Save the children

Last week, three minor girls aged ten, seven and five years old were seen on the seawall in a Berbice village at an hour in the morning which suggested that they would have slept there the night before. The authorities were notified and the children were rescued and taken to the hospital.

This resulted in a series of actions to further protect the girls, which saw their parents arrested. Their mother has since been charged over the alleged neglect and at the time of the writing of this column their stepfather was expected to be charged with sexually assaulting them.

The decision by the neighbour or passerby, who saw the girls on the seawall, to become involved by calling the authorities, may have saved their lives. Much worse harm could have befallen them if they had continued to sleep outside exposed to the elements and to other predators.

One would hope that by the time they are discharged from the hospital, proper arrangements would have been made for their care as wards of the state. The very recent example of the fiery fates of Antonio George and Joshua George cannot be far from the minds of any of us when we learn of children being taken into the state’s care. Nevertheless, one expects that there would have been drastic changes in the way these minors are cared for and that the deaths of the George boys would not have been in vain.

According to the World Bank, every year, as many as one billion children under the age of 18 experience some form of violence. This includes physical and sexual abuse, more often than not at the hands of parents, relatives and other trusted adults; sometimes from other children too.

Instances of violence are more prevalent in some countries, for example in the Philippines, where it is estimated that as many as 100,000 children, some of them as young as two years old are being sexually exploited every year. Authorities there are battling a cybersex ring which uses children in live sex videos. Some of these children are also then trafficked as sex slaves.

Other countries with high child sexual abuse rates include South Africa, where child rape was rampant as it was believed that sex with a virgin could cure HIV. Education and sensitization have helped change this belief system but child abuse is still a huge issue. India, Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom and the United States also have high child sex abuse rates. In the latter two countries, however, there is also a high rate of paedophiles being caught and made to face justice.

But whether the perpetrators are caught or not, violence against children not only violates their rights but hampers their cognitive development, which in turn has implications for their mental health and educational achievement. When violated children grow up to be violators, it simply continues the spinning and widening of the cycle of violent behaviours. When they don’t, there is every likelihood of them being burdens to society because of latent mental issues that may manifest when they become adults.

The government has announced a plan to safety-net some 9,000 poor families pending risk assessments. According to a press release, this would not only include a cash provision, but other forms of assistance as well. This is a welcome declaration. Data gathered globally points to poverty as one of the major contributors to all forms of violence against children. Local anecdotal evidence reveals that sexual abuse, corporal punishment, neglect and other forms of mistreatment of children are driven by poverty.

This is not to suggest, however, that only poor children are at risk. Persons who want to harm children will do so regardless of their social standing. Poverty simply makes children that much more vulnerable.

One hopes that the government’s planned programme seeks outs, finds and safety-nets deserving families, which would redound to more children being saved, while remaining in their homes.