The Special Victims Unit of the T&T Police Service is investigating the physical punishment of a schoolgirl in Tobago, allegedly by a close relative. The incident was recorded and posted to social media.
Head of the unit, Senior Supt Clair Guy-Alleyne, said yesterday that the police had already taken action.
“I have already instructed the team to engage the Children’s Authority to have that child removed from the home,” she said.
Guy-Alleyne last evening confirmed that the child had been removed from the home pending an investigation.
The four videos show a woman cutting the teen’s hair as she argues with the child about her staying out too late.
The other video showed a man holding the girl as the woman hit her several times with a belt, while another shows the man and another child holding the teen as the women hits her with another object.
Guardian Media reached out to the Children’s Authority for an update but did not get a response up to press time.
Contacted yesterday, child psychologist Sarah Subhan, of Family Tree Psychological Services, said it seemed to turn from physical discipline/punishment to a spectacle for the family. But she said the child’s behaviour may have been out of control and asked what other strategies were utilised by the relatives to address it.
Subhan, who has over 10 years experience, said in most of these cases there are underlying family dynamics that would lead a child to be defiant and relatives need to be mindful when discipline turns into something else.
“Here we see a teen being held down and even appearing lifeless, there is a point where these actions would no longer constitute discipline,” she said.
Psychiatrist Dr Varma Deyalsingh meanwhile encouraged relatives to find alternative ways to punish children and added that he understands some parents’ frustration.
“When they have children who are not listening, these can make a parent have a great degree of stress and this can come out as anger,” he said.
He said it’s easy for a relative to lose it under these circumstances, but he said relatives have to appreciate that children are growing up and undergoing changes around puberty and their hormonal changes make them act different.
“If it’s just a delinquent child, you have to get techniques to punish that may not involve too much of the violence,” he said.
Deyalsingh said the idea is not to push the children to run away or harm themselves.
He said the Children’s Authority can assist by providing a social worker who can speak with them.
T&T Secondary Schools’ Parent Support Group president Rachiel Ramsamooj did not condone physical punishment and said violence begets violence.
“Instances such as this only seeks to embarrass the child and expose them to different forms of bullying from their peers,” she said.
Ramsamooj said there should be dialogue, together with guidance counselling and community support as first resorts to assist delinquent children.
