Anna-Lisa Paul
The Judith Jones Task Force uncovered horrific tales of physical abuse at children’s homes around the country – some of which were described as non-accidental incidents which actually led to death in some situations.
The 307-page report, which was released by Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Gender and Child Affairs, Ayanna Webster-Roy last Friday, explicitly detailed the sexual, physical and psychological abuse many wards face at institutions across the country.
In the area of physical abuse, the committee reported: “Physical abuse includes the punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting (with a hand, stick, strap, or other objects), burning, or other forms of harm to a child; that is inflicted by a person, whether an adult or older child, causing non-accidental physical injury ranging from minor bruises to severe fractures or death.”
At St Jude’s, it was found that staff promote a culture that encouraged abuse among residents.
One official, along with a past resident indicated that, “It was common for staff to instigate themed beatings such as House or Compound cut-a**.”
The committee said management was aware of these beatings and that the staff were the instigators. While the task force acknowledged that children’s homes/residential centres should provide children with an out-of-familial-home setting; a secure and safe environment; therapeutic services, and a rehabilitative experience – they accepted there may be inherent limitations to public care for children in general.
But they wrote: “There is an expectation that a residential home provides out-of-home care that will protect children from maltreatment.”
In the report titled Safeguarding Children in Community Residences and Child Support Centres in Trinidad and Tobago, the independent investigation team appointed by the Cabinet in mid 2021 to investigate reports of child abuse at children’s homes found the Children’s Authority of T&T (CATT) received a number of complaints from residents over the last three years.
The team said, “The investigation found several instances of physical abuse in the various Community Residences and Child Support Centres.”
Incident reports described instances of residents heads being bashed against walls; of them being hit with objects such as a lock and or ruler and biting.
Child Support Centres and Community Residences have undergone a number of changes within the last three years including the closure of the St Michael’s Home for Boys in 2018, which housed children with high risk profiles.
The CA said this resulted in the commingling of residents with different needs which the Authority’s staff was not sufficiently trained to deal with; and compounded staff shortages.
The committee said the resultant environment led to staff being apprehensive to carry out their duties in the face of conflict – and led to them being, “authorised to request assistance from security guards to quell situations which they perceive as uncontrollable.”
Meanwhile, the security guards were found to have dealt with the situation based on varying levels of knowledge and experience, instead of standardised procedures and training.
“This approach resulted in instances of physical abuse of residents by staff. The investigation recognised this type of abuse in the CRs, which used traditional methods of disciplining children.”
“Furthermore, the investigation uncovered resident to resident violence within institutional care. This type of violence occurred due to several factors, such as territorial power relations, violent aggression towards migrants, routine fighting due to poor conflict management and bullying that contributed to violent expressions.”
The investigating team also found that staff facilitated resident-to-resident violence as a way to punish other residents.
“In some cases staff instigated violence to retaliate against a child’s actions that could not utilise punitive measures in accordance with the regulations.”
“The investigation found that this distinction contributed to an increased the risk of physical abuse. Staff to resident physical abuse in residential care is complex due to the unequal power relations between staff and residents. Children with adverse experiential backgrounds and serious social and behavioural difficulties place many residents at high risk of becoming victims of abuse as staff utilises punishment subjectively to manage children. The staff’s approach is a retaliation mechanism rather than developmental.”
Officials said the power relations between staff and residents continued to be an underestimated factor that contributed to how power is used towards children.
