Parents main perpetrators of child abuse in Tobago

The Children Authority has received 522 reports of child abuse in Tobago for the period May 2015 to November 2018, with parents being the main perpetrators.

Director Safiya Noel, speaking at the opening of the Authority’s Child Support Centre on Friday at an event at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort in Lowlands, with children between the ages of 7 to 15 being the most vulnerable to abuse.

“…we have received 522 reports of children that are suspected to be victims of child abuse and maltreatment, 61.7 percent of those children are female, and 37.3 percent are male.

“In ages of the client, we see that the highest category is 10 to 13 years followed by a 14 to 15 age category and then followed by 7 to 9 age categories. So we would see between the ages of 7 to 15, they appear to be the most vulnerable children but you also see the age group under 1 year, there is a 3.3 percent. Why does that even exist?”

“For sexual abuse, we had 26.3 per cent followed by neglect 22.3 per cent and physical abuse 16.2 per cent.

“In terms of the alleged perpetrators of abuse, we see Mummies leading - 26.3 per cent - and then followed by Daddies -15.5 per cent - and so we can see over 40 per cent of the abuse perpetrated by biological parents,” she said.

She said the majority of reports come from the western side of Tobago.

Noel said the same patterns of abuse are mirrored in Trinidad, with the district with the highest number of reports being St Andrew.

“In Saint Andrews, we have 28.8 per cent followed by St Patrick and St George, so the western side of Tobago, we are seeing many more reports.

“Sometimes, it’s not necessarily that more abuse is taking place there but what you would find, areas that are more densely populated just by the sheer number of persons, you find more reports coming out and then in the more rural areas you find that sometimes persons may not even be aware of how to contact, how to reach out or sometimes to be able to identify that they are been abused,” she said.

Noel urged persons to continue making reports to the Authority.

“We cannot do it without you the society, we cannot do it alone… you are the eyes and ears for the children, so if any at all you have any suspicion, report it to the Authority. All the reports would be treated with the strictest confidence and would be given attention.

“One child abused is one child too many and we have an excellent opportunity to change that. The Children’s Authority is continuing to work… the Children’s Authority is not here to remove children, we are here to keep families together. “We are here to build capacities within the homes so that children do not have to leave their homes,” she said.