Protecting our Children from Abuse

1. Protecting our Children from Abuse Presented by Mr. Greig Smith, Registrar-OCR

2. What Is Child Abuse? • Any act, or failure to act, on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation. • Any act, or failure to act, on the part of a parent or caretaker, which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.

3. CHILD ABUSE Types of Child Abuse

4. Types of Child Abuse • Child Labour • Child Trafficking • Neglect • Physical Abuse • Sexual Abuse • Emotional Abuse

5. Child Labour Child Labour – any work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interferes with their schooling

6. Child Labour • It is an offence to employ a child under 13 • Children 13-15 years old may be employed but only for light work • Children 15 & over must not be employed in night work or in any industrial or hazardous work • It is an offence for a child to be used for indecent or immoral purposes

7. Child Trafficking • Child Trafficking – “is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child by means of threat or use of force, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power …”

8. Possible Signs & Effects of Child Labour/Trafficking • Child may be seen frequently on the streets begging, selling, working, etc. • Child may be missing from school, home, etc • Child may not get to live out their childhood, ‘forced’ into adulthood

9. Neglect • Neglect - any serious disregard for a child's supervision, care, or discipline.

10. Possible Signs & Effects of Neglect • Child may be abandoned by parent • Child may have unattended medical needs • Child may not be supervised • Child may be mostly hungry, improperly dressed, has poor hygiene • Child may be pale, lacks energy, begs or steals food, frequently absent from school

11. Physical Abuse • Physical Abuse – actions towards a child that result in or could result in serious physical injury, such as: • Beating, burning, cutting • Harmful restraint • Use of any weapon or instrument

12. Possible Signs & Effects of Physical Abuse • Child may get bruises, fractures, cuts on body • Child may be nervous, hyperactive, aggressive, disruptive, and destructive • Child may be overly frightened of parent or caretaker • Child may be unusually suspicious of physical contact

13. Sexual Abuse • Sexual Abuse - any sexual behaviour towards a child, which may include: • Fondling the private area • Oral sex • Vaginal or anal penetration by a finger, penis or other object • Exhibitionism (display private areas) • Child pornography • Suggestive behaviours

14. Possible Signs & Effects of Sexual Abuse • Child may have detailed understanding of sexual behaviours • Child may engage in sexual activity • Child may suffer sleep disturbances/ nightmares • Child may return to bed wetting, etc.

15. Emotional Abuse • Emotional Abuse - attitudes or behaviours expressed towards a child that create serious emotional or psychological damage.

16. Possible Signs & Effects of Emotional Abuse • Child may have very low self-esteem • Child may become • Antisocial or destructive • Depressed and/or suicidal • Very delinquent (wrong-doer)

17. Penalties for Child Abuse

18. Where are Children Abused? Total number of reports received by the OCR by location of abuse and type of report, 2012

19. THE CHILDREN’S REGISTRY Reporting Procedures

20. Overview of the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) • The OCR was established as a provision of the Child Care and Protection Act 2004 (CCPA) • Started operating on Jan 1, 2007 • Is a central repository used to receive, record, assess and refer reports of abuse for investigation. • Four offices: Kingston, St. Ann, Manchester, Westmoreland

21. Role of the Children’s Registry The OCR receives information about a child who has been, is being or is likely to be: • Abandoned • Neglected • Physically or sexually ill-treated • Is otherwise in need of care and protection • Missing And assesses, records then refers the reports to the Child Development Agency and/or the Office of the Children’s Advocate for investigation and action.

22. Ananda Alert System • The OCR acquired the Ananda Alert system on March 1, 2013 • The Ananda Alert is a nationwide system designed to ensure a speedy and safe recovery of a child who is missing, kidnapped or abducted. • Alerts are sent through various media to inform the public of a missing child. Posts will soon be placed on video boards, social media pages, digital screens, route taxi cabs. • Police, agencies and community-based search and rescue teams try to locate the missing child

23. Scope of Mandatory Reporting The CCPA makes it the duty of every adult to report every incident or suspicion indicating that a child has been, is being, or is likely to be ill-treated/abused, abandoned, neglected or in need of care and protection. Section 6 (1) of the CCPA lists ‘prescribed persons’ who have a duty to identify and report suspected or known child abuse. These include professionals working in the fields of health, education, social work, etc.

24. When should a report be made to the OCR? Section 6 (7) of the CCPA says a report shall be made as soon as is reasonably possible Care must be taken however the ensure that the information being reported is true or is believed to be true, because… Section 6 (8) of the CCPA says “a person who knowingly makes a false statement in a report to the Children’s Registry commits an offence”

25. How to Make a Report • CALL: 1-888-PROTECT (1-888-776-8328) or 908-2132 • CALL or TEXT: 822-7031 (LIME) or 878-2882 (DIGI) • FAX or EMAIL: report to 908-2579 or reports@ocr.gov • VISIT: the Offices of the Children’s Registry: Kingston, St. Ann, Manchester, Westmoreland • BB: Download the Child Abuse Reporting System (C.A.R.S) Blackberry application Forms are available at the Children’s Registry or at CDA offices islandwide

26. What should be included in a report • Name, age and sex of abused child • Names and addresses of parents/guardians • The school that the abused child attends • Details of the abuse • Details of the abuser • Any other information which can assist in the intervention and completion of the report

27. How To Make An Ananda Alert Report • Call 119 or visit the nearest police station & provide details about the missing child as well as a recent photo • Email: anandaalert@ocr.gov.jm

28. What should be included in a report- Ananda Alert • Name, age, sex and address of child • Clothes that the child was wearing when last seen • Location that the child was last seen • Recent photo of missing child • Identification marks (scars, disabilities etc.) • Date and time the child went missing • Places frequently visited by the child

29. OCR Reporting Process

30. Facts about Reporting to the OCR • According to Section 6 (4) of the CCPA, the penalty for failure to report to the Children’s Registry, may be: • A fine of $500,000 or • 6 months imprisonment or both charged & imprisoned • The reporter’s identity is kept confidential and divulged only under the three circumstances outlined in Section 9&10, Children’s Registry Regulations • Reporters are not required to provide their contact information unless they wish to prove that they made a report to the OCR or request updates

31. Facts about Reporting to the OCR Continued • Breach of confidentiality by any OCR staff may result in a fine of $500,000 or 6 months imprisonment or both • You cannot be charged for making a false report, if it can be proven that you genuinely believed the abuse was happening • Not all cases reported will result in the child being taken away from the home or the parents being charged • Reporting to the OCR allows for greater accountability and monitoring of the effectiveness of child care and protection agencies

32. Thank You! We can make a difference… Choose to “care and protect not harm and neglect”