Missing children reports fall, but exploitation concerns linger

The near 50 per cent fall in reported cases of missing children during the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked concerns that under-reporting might be a factor of the trend.

That’s the view of Betty Ann Blaine, founder of child-advocacy group Hear the Children’s Cry, who believes that the mass closure of schools in mid-March, as a COVID-19 containment measure, has had far-reaching consequences for children.

“While no one could fault the Government for its move to close schools based on the prevailing exigencies, there was obviously little consideration given to what would happen to children in the confines of their homes and their communities over longer periods of time,” Blaine said.

Data provided by the Missing Persons Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force indicate that for the month of May, 19 children were reported missing when compared to 26 for all of April and 33 in March.

Of the 19 reported missing, 15 have returned home, with the remaining four still unaccounted for, the report showed.

Blaine said she felt certain amidst the unflagging hopefulness that the general state of Jamaican children would worsen as a result of the closure of schools and the attendant social and economic ramifications.

“We were right,” she said, noting that perhaps the most obvious problem of dietary deprivation might have made children more susceptible to the lure of predators.

“Thankfully, the Government addressed [that] by extending the PATH School Feeding Programme to children at home,” Blaine said, while acknowledging the assistance of private-sector partners.

“Despite the programme’s limitations, children would at least be assured of having some amount of food supplies.”

Blaine argued that childcare and supervision could not have been properly contemplated, given the suddenness of the closures.

CHILDREN AT RISK

With no notice, working parents scrambled to find alternatives for day-care arrangements for children. Some of those decisions, said Blaine, may have unintentionally put children at risk.

“Under normal circumstances, children out of school for holidays had the option of staying with relatives in the country and, in some cases, visit family overseas. None of those alternatives were easily available,” Blaine said.

“Children out of school and at home for longer periods of the day are undoubtedly more susceptible to sexual abuse in their own residences.”

However, the Hear the Children’s Cry founder did not address the possibility of curfews, lockdowns, and the closure of entertainment venues acting as deterrents to children running away.

Cases of child sexual abuse have increased steadily for the past few years. In 2019, there were 2,623 reported cases of sexual abuse of children, a rise of 276 cases over 2018.