Only 1 in 10 Jamaicans reporting child abuse and/or neglect

Too many children are suffering in silence. A recent survey from the Office of the Children’s Registry and Unicef reveals that only one in 10 Jamaicans report suspected cases of child abuse.

The survey found that while 76 percent of professionals who work closely with children have reported cases of abuse, only 30 percent of children and 11 percent of adults interviewed, have ever made reports. This is despite the fact that most of the persons surveyed claimed to have either experienced abuse, or knew of a child who has been abused in the past three months.

Additionally, the latest OCR statistics released last week,indicated a jump of close to 40 percent in reports of abuse between January and June 2012-2013.

The Office of the Children’s Registry exists to receive reports of child abuse and/or neglect. Here is their full mandate. Last summer, I used their online reporting system to report a missing child. It was surprisingly easy and a representative from the OCR got in touch with me almost right away. If you suspect a case of child abuse and/or neglect in Jamaica, I strongly urge you to visit and use this easy reporting system. It is free and confidential and you may be contributing to protecting the well-being of a child.