Stop the abuse! - CPSFA concerned about impact of child abuse on mental health

The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPSFA) has expressed concerns about mental health issues among children who are victims of abuse.

Speaking at a virtual child protection forum on Wednesday, the agency’s CEO, Rosalee Gage-Grey, noted that there were more than 14,000 reports of child abuse in 2019.

“The psychological impact of violence and trauma that the children suffer as a result of the abuse they endure is causing a severe mental health issue among children in Jamaica, and requires a lot of clinical and medium- to long-term therapeutics,” Gage-Grey said.

“That is one of the critical areas for us as we seek to address the issues that come; but for us to really grapple with the issue, we need to stop the abuse,” she added.

The guest speaker, clinical psychologist Dr Kai Morgan, highlighted the impact of abuse on the brain, especially on the development of children.

“The impact is going to be trauma. Trauma has a far-reaching effect, so we are not talking about six months, one year from now. We are talking about adulthood, way into adulthood that these have an impact,” Morgan said.

“The brain impacts development, it impacts emotional development and physical development ... ,” she added.

Alando Terrelonge, state minister in the Ministry of Education, spoke out against abuse and urged Jamaicans to protect the nation’s children.

Plan of action

“The national plan of action is an integral response to children and violence. Essentially, a great part of what we do now is to re-educate Jamaicans, re-educate our parents so we that teach them about ways to protect the children,” said Terrelonge.

Gage-Grey also spoke on the psychosocial support, stating that the reports come in through the National Children’s Registry (NCR) and investigators are assigned.

These investigators probe home, school and community to confirm the reports and once identified, they are referred to a social worker and, if required, further evaluation is done by a clinical psychologist.

The CPFSA also used the forum to advise parents to call or visit their office if they are having difficulty or experiencing issues with children, so that support can be offered.

The agency said since the start of 2020, 384 children have been reported missing.