26 May 2012

JAMAICA / CHILD PROTECTION

The fight against child sexual abuse took center stage recently in Kingston, Jamaica, as professionals from across the Caribbean gathered to follow up a 2006 United Nations study on violence against children. UNICEF

Posted at: May 26, 2012 12:02 am

Duration: 02:40

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STORY: JAMAICA / CHILD PROTECTION
TRT: 2:40
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
 
DATELINE: 15 MAY 2012, KINGSTON, JAMAICA
 
SHOTLIST:
 
1. Wide shot, inside crowded conference room
2. Med shot, woman standing at podium
3. Med shot, row of adults sitting in audience
4. Close up, "violence" letterhead
5. Close up, face of woman with glasses talking
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Sandra Knight, Program Specialist, Global AIDS Program, US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Jamaica: 
"I know of adult females who are raped and how they feel, and how invaded they feel and the pain they go through, both physical and psychological, and you think of it on a three-year-old child. I mean, I want you to imagine that."
7. Close up, Marta Santos Pais at podium
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative for the Secretary General on violence against children, United Nations: 
"Most of the people recognize it's still a taboo. It's not being brought into the open. Children feel very frightened to talk about it. Parents feel very hesitant to make it public because they don't the children to be further stigmatized. They are worried that the children might suffer further trauma. And the authorities, in a number of circumstances, are not ready to respond. Either because the services are not there or because professionals are not trained or because there are no resources to ensure a follow-up to each incident and each case and each child, which is what we want to achieve."
9. Wide shot, group of school girls walk past camera down empty street
10. Close up, banner featuring teddy bear and saying "Break the Silence: end child sexual abuse"
11. Wide shot, "FAITH CHURCH OF GOD" church and children walking in front of it
12. Close up, face of girl
13. Close up, hands of girl
14. SOUNDBITE (English) "Taisha," 15 years old:
"And I would like to tell the parents out there that whenever your daughter comes to you with these issues or these problems, do not shun them. Listen to what they're saying because, come on, your daughter cannot be that wicked to come out and tell a lie like that. So the best thing for you to do is listen to her and understand whatever she is saying and try to do something about it that would help, and it will even help to build your relationship."
15. Med shot, crowded sidewalk scene (woman selling fruit, people walking,)
16. Med shot, children walking under tree in front of house, on sidewalk
17. Close up, row of people seated at podium
18. Close up, boy in pink shirt in chair
19. Wide shot, girl at microphone in front of conference room

STORYLINE:
 
The fight against child sexual abuse took center stage recently in Kingston, Jamaica, as professionals from across the Caribbean gathered to follow up a 2006 United Nations study on violence against children.

Sandra Knight, who's worked with the children's hospital here for the past ten years, was seeing so many cases of raped children, many of them attacked brutally, that she went public in a recent newspaper article that detailed the horrors.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dr Sandra Knight, Program Specialist, Global AIDS Program, US Centers for Disease Control &Prevention, Jamaica :
"I know of adult females who are raped and how they feel, and how invaded they feel and the pain they go through, both physical and psychological, and you think of it on a three-year-old child. I mean, I want you to imagine that."

Marta Santos Pais is the UN's Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children. She offered a blunt appraisal about child the state of child sexual abuse.

SOUNDBITE (English) Marta Santos Pais, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children:
"Most of the people recognize it's still a taboo. It's not being brought into the open. Children feel very frightened to talk about it. Parents feel very hesitant to make it public because they don't the children to be further stigmatized. They are worried that the children might suffer further trauma. And the authorities, in a number of circumstances, are not ready to respond. Either because the services are not there or because professionals are not trained or because there are no resources to ensure a follow-up to each incident and each case and each child, which is what we want to achieve."

One successful effort to address the taboo is the Teddy Bear Campaign. Using the image of a blue Teddy with a band-aid over its heart, and the tagline "Break the Silence," the campaign is raising awareness and getting communities to talk openly about child sexual abuse.

The 15-year-old girl we'll call Taisha, not her real name, courageously went to the police after her 19-year-old brother raped her, and her mother did not believe her.

SOUNDBYTE (English), Taisha, 15 years old:
"And I would like to tell the parents out there that whenever your daughter comes to you with these issues or these problems, do not shun them. Listen to what they're saying because, come on, your daughter cannot be that wicked to come out and tell a lie like that. So the best thing for you to do is listen to her and understand whatever she is saying and try to do something about it that would help, and it will even help to build your relationship."

Sexual abuse against children happens everywhere, and the damage inflicted can last a lifetime. The leaders at this conference, some of them children themselves, say they are committed to returning to their communities and doing whatever it takes to protect these vulnerable children at risk.