Phyllis Thomas, News Editor
THE STANDARD of care which is offered in Jamaica's children's homes and places of safety, falls short of acceptable levels, a study commissioned jointly by the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has found.
The study, Faces of Residential Care in Jamaica, 1999 is mentioned in another UNICEF report, Jamaican Children and their Families, a situation assessment and analysis of 1999-2000, which was released recently.
The report (Faces) did not say what the acceptable levels were but it also found that the standard of care "varied from institution to institution" and that there were "extremely positive practices at some of these children's homes and places of safety. It blamed the problems in the institutions on "inadequate physical resources, too few staff and a lack of training".
According to UNICEF, the children reported getting health services, education and skills training as well as having clean clothes and a clean place to sleep.
"Many children say staff are loving, kind and nurturing and that they are respected and valued. Yet some children report that their rights to privacy are violated, that the quality of care they receive suffer from a lack of co-ordinated planning, that staff members are sometimes abusive and that they frequently have difficulties accessing secondary education and advanced skills training," the UNICEF report said.
Meanwhile, UNICEF says although there is some evidence of sexual exploitation of children in the broader society, for example, using them in the commercial sex trade, it has no evidence of paedophilia in the institutions.
"We have not had any report of paedophilia (in the institutions)," Monica Dias, communications officer of UNICEF said.
Sexual exploitation of children is in breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which Jamaica has ratified. Article 16 of the convention is also breached by those institutions which violate children's right to privacy. It says no child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy... Article 19 speaks to sexual exploitation and other forms of maltreatment of children. It says "States parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child."
Although there is evidence of sexual exploitation of children in the wider society, UNICEF cannot sanction the Government over this. And even if evidence of paedophilia surfaced in the children's homes and places of safety, the organisation could not impose punitive actions against the country.
"UNICEF would work closely with the Government to ensure that the situation is ameliorated," Mrs. Dias said, "we try to advocate to change the situation. We work closely with the Government and other stakeholders but we don't impose sanctions."
She listed examples of programmes in which UNICEF is working with the Government to effect change. These include a plan aimed at protecting children against violence which they have just started to develop; a national plan for orphans and vulnerable children and the Special Care and Protection Programme in which the organisation is working with the Ministry of Justice on the reform of the juvenile justice system.
"We promote the rights of children by working with the Government and stakeholders to rectify problems. What purpose will it serve imposing sanctions when the children are suffering," Mrs. Dias said.
Meanwhile, Health Minister John Junor in answer to Sunday Gleaner questions on the prevalence of paedophilia in Jamaica said, in relation to young girls, sexual abuse is fairly prevalent. He said, however, that in many case the action was not out of a desire to go with young girls, but in furtherance of a cure. He was referring to the widely held misconception that having sexual intercourse with children will cure men of sexually transmitted diseases.
