MORE THAN 2,000 violent injuries involving children, including 14 which were gun-related, were recorded by local hospitals between January and December 2002.
The data is contained in a study which was carried out by the Health Promotion and Protection Division of the Ministry of Health.
Over 40 per cent of all violence-related injuries for children under 18 years occurred within the confines of the home, outlined the study, which looked at violence-related injuries recorded for persons under 18 years old in nine Accident and Emergency departments, islandwide.
"This sends the very strong message that we are failing to protect our children, even in the environment in which we have the most control and influence. Sad to say, it is usually many of these abused children who end up being wards of the state, because of the violence being inflicted on them by their relatives and caregivers in the home," said health officials, among them Allison Anderson, chief executive officer (CEO) at the Health Ministry's Child Development Agency (CDA) in a statement.
The study showed that more than half of the children injured were boys, numbering 831, or 56.4 per cent compared to 642 girls.
Among the most vulnerable or at risk group were children, 10 to 17 years old, accounting for 86.1% and 86.6% of visits for males and females respectively.
The weapon of choice against the children were sharp or blunt objects and male victims outnumbered females by almost two to one. One hundred and eight incidents were recorded for girls compared to six for males.
2001 statistics from a United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF)/UNAIDS publication, entitled "Young People and HIV/AIDS-Opportunity in Crisis," showed that 12 per cent of girls interviewed for a study said they were forced or raped and two per cent were tricked into sex.
GUN-RELATED INJURIES
The 2002 survey showed that gun-related injuries amounted to 3.9 per cent of visits to Accident and Emergency departments for children, who were under a year old to 17 years old.
The figures show that children were mostly injured by people they know, especially acquaintances, which accounted for 58 per cent of injuries. Relatives accounted for 16.5 per cent and strangers who were responsible for 10.7 per cent.
Mental health experts continue to be concerned about the psychological burden now being carried by a large number of Jamaican children, who are either victims of, or witnesses to violent acts, or suffer the loss of relatives and friends.
Dr. Earl Wright, Director of Mental Health Services in the Ministry of Health has said that many of these people are suffering undiagnosed depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He said earlier this year that any serious effort to stop the cycle of violence must encourage parents to take advantage of the window of opportunity presented when children are young and receptive by teaching them the important life skills and emotional intelligence.
