The woman lovingly attended to what appeared to be a small wound on the one of the child’s fingers. The two spoke quietly as the woman kept rubbing the finger. It was a picture-perfect portrait of a loving mother and daughter but where they were indicated that all was not well in paradise.
They sat in the office of the Child Care and Protection Agency and under the watchful eye of an officer I spoke to the child whom I later learnt was just 13 years old. Before we spoke she threw her arms around the officer and it was obvious that the two had a good relationship. The officer could have passed for a relative, but she is actually the child’s case worker, and the older woman was indeed her mother.
Yesterday ended the world’s observation of Child Protection Week and I decided to speak to a child, as difficult as it was, who was exposed to abuse and was receiving assistance. I asked her how long she had been in state care.
