Child Abuse Gets Worse

At a press conference Tuesday morning to shed light on the child abuse issue, Chairman Maycock said recently compiled figures reflect a very serious problem in the country – one he says might just get worst if the economy continues to follow this downward spiral. And with global economic forecasts predicting the ailing financial situation to last for at least another 18 months, the numbers just might skyrocket.

"We do believe that there will be a rise in all areas of child abuse this year and maybe into next year depending on the condition of the economy," he said. "We are mindful of it, especially in the area of neglect. We realise that means some persons who have been working two and three jobs to try and make ends meet, they might lose one job, but still some persons might have to seek additional employment. We do realise that and we do look for an increase maybe in neglect. We’re hoping for the better, that it does not happen, but we do expect that it will be."

According to the statistics that Maycock revealed, there are six types of abuse; physical, sexual, verbal or emotional, incest, abandonment and neglect, which he says has by far the highest numbers. In New Providence alone, there were 545 reported cases of child abuse with that number jumping to 719 just last year. The neglect cases saw 190 reported incidents in 2007 and 266 in 2008. He added that the second highest category is physical with sexual abuse coming in at a close third. The numbers for physical abuse show that there was a slight decline from 119 cases reported in 2006 to 105 reported in 2007. But that rose again to 134 in 2008.

Maycock said these figures bring to light the grim reality that many Bahamian children are being subjected to varying forms of torture and are being forced to suffer the fallout from the stresses that their parents might be facing as a result of personal problems.

"Children are left alone at night, are not fed properly and live in unsanitary conditions. They are allowed to skip school and to roam the streets freely day and night. Children without family care, support and supervision are highly vulnerable to becoming members of gangs to committing criminal acts."

But according to Deputy Chairman of the NCPC Novia Carter-Higgs, the fact that the numbers show an increase in reported child abuse cases is a bittersweet thing.

"We look at the numbers increasing as being a positive sign as well," Carter-Higgs said. "Because what it indicates is the public is becoming more aware of what is child abuse and taking those steps to report it, rather than keeping it in the closet."

The NCPC is now on a mission, they say, to help stamp out child abuse by revamping their strategies and bringing more ventures on board to continue to spread the word. Maycock explained that new initiatives like the airing of a new public service announcement, a partnership with the Bahamas Christian Council, and a new "Say No, Then Go" school campaign, there is no reason why this should not be a national fight and Bahamians can see once and for all that child abuse is simply unacceptable.