Proposals to protect children on the table

It is being proposed that a Family Court be introduced to deal with all cases pertaining to children and family, and that mandatory DNA testing is performed where a child’s paternity is in dispute.

That’s the word from Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Adriel Brathwaite. His comments came as he delivered the feature address at the closing ceremony of a Child Rights Seminar, hosted by UNICEF and the Office of the Ombudsman at United Nations House. Brathwaite said these are but a few of the recommendations made to the Cabinet geared towards helping Barbados meet the obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and generally improve the rights of children in this country.

He noted that too often when there is a breakdown in the relationships of parents, the children are caught in the middle, and so the Family Court is intended to move away from that and allow the focus to remain, in those difficult circumstances, on what is best for the children. With that in mind, he said this Court will also address issues of maintenance and custody.

“You hear men complain not that in fact they are not willing to provide maintenance because they don’t get the chance to see their children; we want to address that because foremost and frontal, we want to address what is in the best interest of the child,” he said.

On the issue of paternity disputes, the Attorney General added that where the parents are unable pay the cost for the mandatory testing the State will foot the bill.

His comments came as he said they are also proposing a new protocol regarding the reporting of child abuse. Brathwaite explained that between 2006 and 2012 there were 5151 cases of child abuse reported to the Child Care Board, affecting some 7097 children. He said while these cases were reported, many more have gone unreported, and he is contending that this silence cannot be condoned. As such, he indicated that in keeping with Article 19 of the Convention, they will seek to put a mandatory reporting protocol in place.

“…Child abuse is significant challenge and you don’t know the level of damage done to a child. Some children, even as adults, never recover from the abuse they suffered at nine or 10 or 11… and usually, unfortunately at the hands of a relative, a father an uncle, next door neighbour or godfather etc,” he added. (JRT)