By EARYEL BOWLEG
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
SOCIAL Services Minister Frankie Campbell is pleading with parents and guardians not to “cross the line from disciplining to abusing” children.
His comments came after three people were charged in two separate cases of child cruelty in the Magistrate’s Court last week.
A woman was sentenced to three months in prison after she admitted to beating her boyfriend’s son with a belt earlier this month. In a separate incident, two men were given a three-month sentence each after one gave a two-year-old boy a drink from a beer bottle, which was recorded on cellphone video.
Speaking outside of Cabinet yesterday, the minster highlighted both he and his ministry takes the protection of children as a “serious priority”.
He added: “We’ve always and continued to admonish parents, guardians, persons with responsibility to not cross the line from disciplining to abusing and so the Ministry of Social Services does not support in any way form or fashion in a matter of fact we condemn any child abuse.
“We know that these are tough times and we invite parents or guardians to seek assistance. The Department of Social Services offers assistance and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health we offer counselling. We have parenting classes and so seek assistance but for God's sake don’t take it out on the children.”
He also said his ministry offers assistance for the perpetrator and victims of domestic violence.
Comments
mandela 3 years, 10 months ago
Parents charged with abuse for using a belt on their children, but the RBPF can abuse other people children with bats against their heads and nothing happens to the abusive policemen, their is surly a lack of justice and contempt issued against its citizens.
tribanon 3 years, 10 months ago
A politician can have as many 'outside' children as he wishes and cruelly not support any of them or their natural mothers with no consequence whatsoever. Yet a young man who gives a very young child a sip of beer in jest for a video goes to prison for 3 months. What a joke! The judge who handed down the ridiculous verdict must have been seriously abused for most of their childhood resulting in permanent scarring of their temperament and sensibility.
bogart 3 years, 10 months ago
The good Minister refers to "parents" and "guardians" plural. In reality many children are brought up by SINGLE PARENT generally young women or basically children having babies. Many children cannot manners lil children when they themselves cannot impart what they don't know.
hrysippus 3 years, 10 months ago
If a child fears his or her parent because of the threat of physical abuse then that parent has failed. Stop hitting children, in fact stop hitting anybody else unless you are in a boxing ring with a referee there.
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