‘KEEP THEM SAFE’

Children have a right to be safe from any forms of abuse, regardless of which environment they are in and this is one of the reasons why UNICEF is working with a number of stakeholders to ensure that they are protected.

This is according to Communication for Development Specialist for the UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area, Lisa McClean-Trotman, who spoke to The Barbados Advocate recently.

As a result, they have worked and continue to work with various sporting organisations, educating the persons who lead from the front on issues relating to child abuse and what part they can play in curbing these incidents.

“The whole idea is that wherever a child is or will be, that area should be safe. So we have worked very closely with the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board); we are working very closely with the National Sports Council here in terms of educating coaches about child protection, how do you keep an environment safe, what do you do if you suspect child abuse.”

They are also collaborating with faith-based organisations of different denominations regarding this same matter.

“We have done the same thing as well with religious leaders. So we have a new partnership with the New Testament Church of God where they have actually started trying to implement a protocol within their churches, that any child that comes to their church should be safe. We have started some work with the Anglican church and of course the PAWI (Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies International) churches through Bishop Seale, who has drafted a protocol for PAWI churches, which I understand last year was adopted by PAWI.”

In addition, they are also partnering with other organisations such as those who are responsible for child safety in Barbados and the press who report on these issues to ensure that they play their part as well.

“We support the Child Care Board as well in terms of educating teachers and principals about child abuse and what to do in the event of child abuse. So most of the work that we do is focused on that and last but not least, we are trying to work very closely with the media because yes, we recognise that the public has a right to know, but we want to balance the public’s right to know with ethical guidelines for reporting on children. So we want to make sure that yes, even if you reveal the name of a perpetrator that it doesn’t inadvertently identify that child; that nobody should be able to walk on the street and say, ‘Oh that is the child who was be abused.’ So those are some of the activities that we have been working on in collaboration with our partners.”