“Keeping Children Safe” information sessions, under the umbrella of PAVE’s (Partners Advocating for Violence Eradication) Community Desk, Series were held with the Spanish-speaking community on Thursday May 16th and Saturday May 18th, 2019. Both Community Desk sessions were sponsored by UNICEF and took place at the Casa de Oración Church, in Rey Hill, under the leadership of Pastor Jorge Piña.
The first session saw some 48 adults in attendance. The topics discussed were as follows:
Child Abuse
Child Sexual Exploitation
Safeguarding Children
The Child Protection Legislation 2019
The Role of Adults in Child Abuse Prevention
The second session catered to children between ages 9 and 17 years old. That session took the format of a video presentation of the play entitled “Somebody Help Me Please.”
The play tells the story of cases of and the effects of sexual abuse on children, children when they become adults and their families. Discussion also surrounded the role children themselves can play in ensuring their own safety from sexual abuse. The play commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Social Development in 2013 is appropriate for children age 9 and over. The sessions delivered in English and Spanish were led by a senior team within the
Ministry and Department of Social Development comprising Social Development Planner- (Mrs. Kiesha Gumbs-Bibby), Community Services Planner- (Mrs. Hyacinth Bradley), and Senior Social Worker-(Ms. Lauraine Gumbs). The Spanish-speaking community, specifically Dominican Republic nationals, is the largest immigrant population on Anguilla. However, interventions have been provided to a very small percentage of this group.
Capacity building sessions are critical for family and social services systems development on Anguilla. The wellbeing of children, and the identification of risks with vulnerable adults, parents and caregivers, are is of paramount importance to any nation. It is our duty to support communities through education and sensitization opportunities like the Community Desk. Through these interventions, families can be better prepared to protect children from physical, emotional and sexual abuse; from neglect, child pornography, child sexual exploitation and child trafficking. An informed community will be versed in safeguarding children.
PAVE, through its Community Desk series, facilitates public discussions, awareness presentations and closed sessions to communities across Anguilla in English, Spanish and Chinese. This inclusive outreach and public education initiative is specifically designed to, among other objectives, create avenues for the underserved to access public information and services, gather information and feedback from citizens to improve service delivery, and identifying strengths, needs and opportunities of specific communities with the ultimate goal of encouraging conversant communities.
– Press Release
