Mental health experts warn of child trafficking crisis targeting youths online

Mental health specialists in Jamaica have issued an urgent warning that children are being targeted and traumatised by traffickers, frequently through phones, tablets, and other connected devices.

Investigators say offenders often conceal their identities behind screens, posing as young people in online games and chat rooms. They use those spaces to groom victims, pressure them into sharing explicit material, and sell that content for profit.

One recent case involved a grade five boy whose principal became alarmed after he was caught showing inappropriate material to classmates. When authorities examined his tablet, they found sexual images and videos of adult men. The child had also begun recording videos of himself, copying material that had been sent to him. He lives with his grandmother, who does not know how to operate the device or apply security settings.

Jamaica remains a Tier 2 country in the latest United States Trafficking in Persons Report, a rating that reflects progress but also unfinished work in the fight against trafficking. Beyond the statistics, specialists stress the lasting damage to young lives. Experts note that the human brain is not fully developed until around age 25 and is not built to withstand complex trauma. Children subjected to sexual exploitation may later face post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety, depression, and in some cases conditions such as schizophrenia.

In many cases, the perpetrator is not a stranger but someone the child knows and trusts. Licensed associate psychologist Don Marie Pedgrave Smith said betrayal of that kind leaves deep psychological scars. "The confusion, the person that I trust is actually doing this thing to me," she said, adding that the harm affects emotional, intellectual, and sometimes physical development.

Mental health professionals are now describing human trafficking as a public health emergency. Smith called for louder advocacy across every level of education, as well as in churches and community centres. "It is way more prevalent in Jamaica than we think it is," she said.