Citizens have been reeling in shock over the last few days after reading the Judith Jones Task Force report into the operations of community residences and child support centres across Trinidad and Tobago.
The 307-page report, titled Safeguarding Children in Community Residences and Child Support Centres in Trinidad and Tobago and prepared by a team appointed by Cabinet in mid-2021 to investigate reports of child abuse at children’s homes, was laid in Parliament last Friday.
Essentially, it found severe cases of maltreatment at several institutions, including physical, psychological and sexual abuse, gang rape and prostitution—with some of the activity even leading to the death of children.
At least two homes were singled out in the report for major infractions, with recommendations which, no doubt, could and should lead to charges being laid against those responsible and even those who facilitated the horrendous acts uncovered.
Unfortunately, however, the report is not raising something new to citizens. For decades, children placed in such facilities have been crying out about the ill-treatment meted out to them. Some of these cases have been reported in the media, in some instances where wards have escaped from institutions and told their tales of misery, with the result always being promises by the state to investigate, rectify the issues and hold those responsible to account.
This is why Minister of Gender and Child Affairs Ayanna Webster-Roy’s promise to ensure the latest issues are addressed with urgency rings hollow to some sectors of society.
For example, St Jude’s Home for Girls, which has a decades-long history of caring for children in this country and has also been named in such maltreatment cases before, has again been spotlighted. The question must thus arise as to how long wards of this institution must be allowed to suffer under the care of persons clearly abusing their authority.
A few years ago, the St Michael’s Home for Boys, which also had a history of abusive treatment of wards, was shuttered by the government. Back then, reduced numbers of wards at the facility was given as the reason for closure, yet one could not help but wonder if the maltreatment at the institution was also not a contributing factor. Still, the Jones report noted that St Michael’s’ closure led to the commingling of its residents with different needs at state facilities where staff were not sufficiently trained to deal with them.
Ultimately then, the question is how many children’s lives have been negatively impacted by the abusive behaviour of those given the responsibility to provide them with an out-of-familial-home setting; a secure and safe environment; therapeutic services and a rehabilitative experience.
It must also be determined why the Children’s Authority of T&T, which must get reports of all untoward incidents at institutions under its purview, has failed to act or been more vociferous about the problem up to now.
As such, this newspaper joins the national community in urging Minister Webster-Roy to ensure the Inter-Agency Task Force appointed to devise a way forward completes its work and its recommendations are definitively implemented. More importantly, the Minister must also ensure the perpetrators of criminal acts uncovered in the Jones report are also brought to justice and that the system is purged of delinquent homes and employees.
