Protocol for reporting child abuse should be mandatory

Faith Marshall-Harris, Attorney at Law and UNICEF Children’s champion believes that there should be legislation in place making it necessary for persons to report instances of child abuse.

She made the remark during the Symposium on Child Abuse, hosted by the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital recently. Marshall-Harris highlighted that she outlined a proposed legislation four years ago, unfortunately she noted that the legislation was still in the ‘utero’.

The attorney at law further pointed out that the law could only do so much, while stating that she believes that “for a protocol for reporting child abuse to be successfully implemented without legislation, all parties should agree and subscribe to the fundamental principle that all abuse and neglect in children must be treated with the greatest vigilance, must be reported to all relevant authorities, victims and abusers must be urgently treated and abuse and
neglect must be eradicated from our society”.

“Once we all sign up for that, we might not even need legislation. However, it might become necessary when there is no societal will to do all of the above,” she said.

“For a reporting protocol to be successful, mandatory or otherwise, Barbados needs to recognise abuse and neglect wherever it exists and I don’t think that we are ready to do such.”

She went on to give a brief overview of the proposed legislation for the protocol on reporting child abuse.

“Persons are mandated to report child abuse and those persons who are so mandated are in regular contact with persons in the course of their duties. The mandated reporters are immune from civil and criminal liability where reports are made in good faith. All reports should be made where there is suspected child abuse and neglect,” she said.

“Reports may be made verbally by telephone initially, but is to be followed up in writing within 24 hours. The reports should be made to the Child Care Board hotline or the Police hotline or both and the police will involve the Child Care Board in all reports made to them.”

Since it has been four years since she made the proposed legislation, the attorney at law proposed that a few amendments should be made to a few acts such as the Child Care Board Act 381, the Sexual Offences Act, the Police Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act, to help bring the protocol to reality.