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alexk
Guest
The Children’s Authority says it is deeply concerned about the level of under-reporting of cases of child abuse in Tobago.
Chairman of the Children’s Authority Hanif Benjamin was speaking on Saturday night after he delivered the feature address at the Rapid Fire Kidz Foundation sixth annual Gala Dinner at the Achievors Banquet Hall, Adesh Drive, San Fernando.
Benjamin said the authority, which was established on May 18, 2015, is expected to set up a Child Support Centre and an Assessment Centre at Signal Hil, Tobago by September.
Benjamin said in the last two years there were 260 reports of cases of abuse from Tobago.
“We want to be able, through our public education, to go into the communities in Tobago on a permanent basis so we could encourage people to report issues of child abuse and understand what is child abuse and what solutions we might be able to provide the communities.”
Benjamin said the Children’s Authority operations in Tobago would be complemented with the assistance of the Tobago House of Assembly.
He said the Authority is in the final stage of signing an MOU guide on how it will operate and shares resources and skill sets across the board.
In his address, Benjamin said the authority has received 60,000 calls from the public on cases of abuse in T&T.
He said the Authority is investigating 15,000 reports and remarked that 67 per cent of the reports are linked to instances of sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect.
“Most times the perpetrators are people who are charged with the responsibility to care and protect them,” he said.