BRADES, Montserrat (June 04, 2012) - The Ministry of Health and Social Services launched its “Child Protection Booklet” aimed at professionals and people working directly with children on Montserrat on Monday, June 4, 2012.
A statement from the ministry, said they joined the United Nations in the observance of “International Day of Innocent Children – Victims of Aggression.” It also celebrates the millions of individuals and organisations working to protect and preserve the rights of children.
The new booklet is envisioned to act as a Policy and Procedural Guideline for use across multiple agencies to educate and raise awareness on Child Abuse. The handbook also includes information on identifying potential signs of abuse in children both physical and behavioural.
“This booklet will assist the police, hospital workers, teachers, and other persons who work or supervise children at play or out of school activities. It will also inform them on what to do in the event of a child or young person coming to their notice as having been abused,” the statement said.
A guide for parents is also included to raise awareness of abuse and to assist them in their important and sometimes difficult role of bringing up a child. The leaflets will be offered to parents in the coming months, and will be translated into languages to cater to the other language groups on island.
A series of multi-agency workshops are scheduled to begin on June 21st facilitated by the Social Services Department. The workshops aim to “gradually train and advise those working with children in firstly how to recognise child abuse, and once this is done, what to do next to protect the child or young person.”
The ministry thanked the Governor’s Office for providing the funding for the printing of the Child Protection Booklet. They also expressed thanks to Mrs. Teresena Fergus, Acting Director of Social Services and Mrs. Priscilla Owen Community Development Advisor.
This initiative springs from a series of Safeguarding Workshops held in March 2012, organized by Social Services and facilitated by Jenny Myers and John Warwick of the DfID sponsored “Safeguarding children in the Overseas Territories” or “SCOT Project”.
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