Child protection
Our vision: All children grow up free from violence.
Challenge
Preventing and responding to all forms of violence against Jamaican children remains a major priority for UNICEF. Children are exposed to violence from an early age. The most common form is violent discipline at home, inflicted by parents and caregivers. In Jamaica corporal punishment is not yet legally prohibited.
Other forms of violence suffered by adolescents and youth include gang violence, sexual violence and bullying – both physically and online. Safety and security are also compromised for children who live in state care or come into conflict with the law. Girls are more likely to experience sexual violence with some 21 per cent of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years-old reporting having experienced sexual violence. Boys are more likely than girls to experience physical abuse or to be involved in crime.
Solutions
Our Child Protection programme aims to better prevent, and respond to abuse, exploitation, neglect and violence against children by:
1. Strengthening the child protection system to ensure that children have improved equitable access to quality, resilient and gender-responsive violence prevention and response services, including in emergencies.
2. Increasing the number of communities, parents and children who support positive social and gender norms, and have the knowledge and skills to practice non-violent behaviours and seek help when needed, including in emergencies.
To achieve these goals, we work with various partners on different strategies such as:
Enhanced child protection: Strengthen evidence-based frameworks to better protect children from violence, develop protocols and multi-sectoral case-management service delivery models and systems, and strengthen data availability and governance.
Strengthen service delivery: Strengthen identification, reporting and integrated referral mechanisms for children at risk and child victims of violence. Build capacity and develop quality assurance systems for emergency-resilient child- and gender-responsive services; and support the modelling, testing and expansion of family-based alternative care options. Improve the delivery and monitoring of resourced and high-quality child helpline services.
Community empowerment: Work with communities – including parents and children – to grow positive social and gender norms, build life- and social- skills with an emphasis on human rights, resilience, healthy relationships and providing positive alternatives for children and youth. Roll out gender-responsive parenting skills programmes to help parents/caregivers build stronger, non-violent relationships with their children. Employ evidence-informed communication for development approaches to raise public understanding, build consensus and generate positive changes in attitudes, practices and, ultimately, social norms
Our partners
Children First Agency
Partner type: Civil society organization
Children First offers social, educational and training programmes for Jamaicans aged 10-24 years old while also empowering their parents.
Child Protection and Family Services Agency
Partner type: Government
The CPFSA operates under the purview of the Ministry of Education and Youth, serving as a leader in Jamaica’s child protection system and working to promote child-friendly policies and programmes to strengthen families.
Jamaica Association of Social Workers
Partner type: Professional body
The JASW is a professional membership organization for social workers, social work students, and other social service workers in Jamaica.
Fight for Peace
Partner type: Civil society organization
Fight for Peace uses combat sports and psychosocial support, brings together a network of community-based organizations and multi-sector stakeholders to collaborate on youth violence reduction programming in key hot spot communities.
Ministry of Justice
Partner type: Government
The Ministry of Justice is the lead administrator of justice in Jamaica. It administers legislation; delivers justice services including child diversion; and provides policy support and analysis on justice issues.
Ministry of National Security
Partner type: Government
The Ministry of National Security is responsible for maintaining national safety through the enforcement of law and order. It is also charged with preserving the security of Jamaica’s borders.
National Parenting Support Commission
Partner type: Government
The NPSC operates under the purview of the Ministry of Education and Youth and is mandated to coordinate parenting support interventions across Jamaica, assisting parents in developing the skills they need to raise and protect their children and encouraging a collaborative effort between home and school.
Office of the Children's Advocate
Partner type: Government
The OCA is the Commission of Parliament that has the legislative mandate to protect and enforce the rights of all children in Jamaica and to promote their best interests.
Parenting for Lifelong Health at Oxford University and Innovations in Development, Education and the Mathematical Sciences
Partner type: Academic institution and civil society organizations
Parenting for Lifelong Heath is a research initiative that aims to develop, test and widely disseminate a suite of parenting programmes for low-resource settings that is affordable, not for profit, open access, and based on rigorous evidence.
Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation
Partner type: Government
The WCJF operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, serving adolescent mothers with educational, counselling, parenting support, day care and sexual and reproductive health services.