Dr Tony Butler (left), child-protection consultant, in discussion with Jeremy Cresswell (right), British Ambassador to Jamaica. Mary Clarke (second left), children's advocate, and Dr Beverly Scott of the Family and Parenting Centre, look on. The group yesterday participated in a child-protection strategic development plan workshop at the Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston. The workshop ends next Thursday. - Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer

A Child-protection audit released to the media yesterday has found that young victims of abuse are subject to undue trauma.

The report, prepared last June, said the environment in which abused children were asked to disclose details of offences was "not conducive to treating the child with dignity and respect and furthermore, obtaining high-quality detailed information from the child".

It also said the process of medical examinations sometimes unnecessarily added to the trauma faced by children, and this could be counterproductive in a trial.

Health minister Rudyard Spencer, through his Permanent Secretary Dr Jean Dixon, yesterday acknowledged that the State needed to provide proper care for its children, including those who were victims of abuse.

"Children who were traumatised, hurting and confused need children-friendly spaces where they are not further traumatised by what could be described as oppressive formality of state entities," Dixon said at the launch of a child-protection audit workshop yesterday.

dealing with child abuse

The workshop is intended to train individuals in dealing with child-abuse cases. At the launch, Children's Advocate Mary Clarke stressed the need to overhaul the childcare and protection system.

"We want improvement in the services for victims of abuse, improvement in the investigation process, the court process and trial process, and, very important, improvements in outcomes. Because if we are going to do better investigations, collect better evidence, then the outcome will be better," Clarke said.

Dr Tony Butler, child-protection consultant who conducted the child-protection audit, was mandated to "make recommendations to reduce the trauma experienced by child-abuse victims during the investigation and criminal trial, and also to enhance the quality of the evidence available to the court".

contamination

Butler's audit suggests that the current reporting and investigation process may contribute to the contamination of evidence provided by the child.

The consultant also found that there were significant delays between the reporting of the allegation and the subsequent trial.

"This significantly adds to the child's trauma and reduces the quality of the evidence," Butler said in the report.

Yesterday, Butler said, " … The systems we have here do not operate in the best interest of the children."

establish protocol

The childcare and protection expert has urged the State to establish a protocol to standardise the criteria for requesting a medical examination be put in place.

Butler also said there was a need to review existing care arrangements with a view to increasing the potential use of options other than placing a child in a place of safety.

The consultant also wants the State to introduce video recording of interviews with child victims and witnesses.

kimesha.walters@gleanerjm.com