CPFSA presses Jamaica to safeguard children after Shani Coke killing

The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) says the killing of 10-year-old Shani ‘Kaja’ Coke underlines how exposed Jamaica’s young people remain to violence. Officials warned that adults who ought to nurture and shield minors are still committing grave harm against them, and that the country must strengthen safeguards for children.

The agency restated its position that every minor should be raised in surroundings that keep them safe, offer support, and allow them to develop fully.

Chief Executive Officer Laurette Adams Thomas said CPFSA stands with the bereaved relatives and neighbours, recognising how deeply the loss has hit them. “There are simply no words that can lessen the pain of this tragedy,” Adams Thomas said. She added that the girl ought to have lived long enough to chase her ambitions and mark the ordinary milestones of growing up. Instead, she said, the child was left “another victim of unspeakable violence,” and Jamaica must stop treating such crimes as something society can live with.

Adams Thomas framed each case of abuse or killing of a child as proof that the nation has fallen short in defending its most defenceless. She pressed for a fresh nationwide push against violence targeting minors, arguing that talk alone will not suffice and that citizens must own their duty to keep children safe. Child welfare, she said, should sit at the top of the agenda now, with grown-ups ready to flag abuse, step in where needed, and challenge dangerous conduct.

“Every child is precious, every life has immeasurable value, and every adult has a responsibility to intervene, to report abuse, to speak up and to act,” she said.

She also warned against revenge attacks, stating that mob violence is not a legitimate answer. “Jungle justice, however, is not the appropriate form of intervention and is not supported by the CPFSA,” she said.

CPFSA held that keeping children safe depends on joint effort by households, neighbourhoods and state bodies, with adults actively building environments where Jamaica’s young people can live without fear.