An average of 1,395 reports of child sexual abuse are made to the Children’s Authority each year, and almost all of the perpetrators are known to the victims.
Rhonda Gregoire-Roopchan, general manager of the Child Welfare Services division of the Children’s Authority, told Sunday Newsday from May 18, 2015-September 30, 2023, members of the public as well as stakeholders made 10,811 reports of child sexual abuse.
Those 10,811 reports of suspicions formed 29.9 per cent of the cases the authority got over the period. She added that the greatest number of reports were made in 2020 – 1,452 – and the lowest in 2018 – 1,180. And 45 per cent of the perpetrators were the children’s primary caregivers.
She said in over 80 per cent of sexual abuse cases, the victims were female. The authority had received reports about children less than one year old being abused, but the most frequent age group was ten-13.
The reports were received from all over the country, but the authority received the most from the San Juan/Laventille areas (12.7 per cent), and Tunapuna/Piarco (10.9 per cent).
“The fewest reports came to us from rural areas, including Mayaro/Rio Claro at 2.4 per cent and Point Fortin at 3.3 per cent.
“What we suspect, and we've been working on, is that there is a group of persons who may not know how to report. There is a group of persons who may not know what abuse is and that it should be reported, as we have seen in some of the reports that actually came to us.”
To address this, the authority was working on community outreach in Tobago, which accounted for about five per cent of its cases, as well as rural areas of Trinidad.
She said to make a report, a person was not required to know all the details or even be absolutely sure the allegation was true. But the name of the child, the name of the family, an address or any information that would help them find the child would be appreciated.
“What we ask is that the report comes to us and give us the opportunity to do our due diligence, because we will then investigate.”
She said reports could be made anonymously or contact information could be given so the team could contact you – but not share your identity with the subjects of the report. She added that the Authority introduced a National Inter-agency Protocol for Child Abuse Prevention and Management document a few months ago to show stakeholders and the public what they could do to help.
She also stressed that the authority did not deal with the criminal aspects of the case but worked closely with the Child Protection Unit of the police, which laid charges and dealt with any further legal activities.
Instead, the authority focused on the child’s experiences, needs, and how to help the child return to functioning optimally. With the help of several stakeholders the authority sees to the child's medical, mental and emotional needs, and works with the whole family to recover. Stakeholders include the Ministry of Education’s Student Support Services, National Family Services and the Ministry of
