Child Rights body urges greater protections in face of coronavirus

The Rights of the Child Commission (RCC) is urging all of society to do its utmost to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the nation’s children, especially in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a press release issued on Thursday, the RCC stated that it has taken note of the report put out by the Child Care and Protection Agency for the first quarter of 2020, which recorded a “significant” number of child abuse reports. The Commission sees this as a “worrisome situation” further “compounded and exacerbated” by the existential threat of COVID -19 to both children and care givers.

The RCC also noted the efforts of various stakeholders in responding to this situation and recommended a more “concerted and collaborative” approach as the Commission believes that the considerable threat to life imposed by COVID -19 must be met with the continued resolve of all stakeholders to keep children safe. Such safety, it argues, must involve protection from the deadly virus as well as from any form of mistreatment and abuse while in their homes.