Child advocates call Jamaica an anti-child society after Trelawny pupil’s death

Hear The Children’s Cry (HTCC) has labelled Jamaica an “anti-child society”, arguing that young people face rising violence, abuse and neglect even in settings meant to keep them secure.

The advocacy organisation issued the assessment after the death of Shani Coke, a 10-year-old pupil of Troy Primary School, whose body was found in Tyre District, Trelawny, on Tuesday.

HTCC directors Nigel Cooper and Priscilla Duhaney said the killing underscores what they see as a deepening national emergency that needs swift action.

“We have become an ‘anti-child society’ in more ways than one. When it’s not rape or sexual assault, its murder or both – pretty much taking the innocence of our children and/or their lives. Our youngsters are at risk of violence at home, at risk in the public space, and at risk in school,” they said.

Cooper, who has spent his career in education, said the country must rapidly build firmer safeguards for children wherever they spend their time.

“We need specific interventions for those issues within the physical residences; we must have another type of intervention for when children are in public spaces, and yet another, institution-related set, for when our youngsters are at school,” he said.

He added that citizens should press officials for firm measures, while neighbourhoods themselves accept a larger duty to shield children who are at risk.

HTCC is also pressing parents, neighbours and institutions to stay more alert over the summer, when lighter oversight can leave youngsters more vulnerable.

Duhaney asked adults to watch more carefully who and what surrounds children, and urged churches and community bodies to offer safe programmes for youth.

“We are appealing to parents, community residents and society at large to be more vigilant, especially during the long summer periods when our children are more exposed to violence and crime due to a lack of supervision, and the quest for more engagement. The church should engage the children in their communities in summer programmes for their spiritual and social development,” she said.