Peta-Anne Baker, a consultant with the Jamaica Association of Social Workers.Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter
Dr. Peta-Anne Baker, a consultant with the Jamaica Association of Social Workers, has argued that the requirement for health caregivers to report instances of child abuse could, unwittingly, lead to an increase in the incidence of HIV/AIDS among children.
Dr. Baker pointed to anecdotal evidence that suggests that fewer underaged mothers are presenting themselves for antenatal care, fearing that health caregivers will be forced to report their cases to the Children's Registry.
Under the Child Care and Protection Act [2004], if a person suspects that a child is likely to be abandoned, neglected, physically or sexually ill-treated, or in need of care or protection, he or she is mandated to report it to the Children's Registry.
Penalty
The penalty for not making a report is a maximum fine of $500,000 or six months in prison or both.
"If I am 15 and pregnant, and I go to the doctor for care, then it means the doctor has an obligation to report the fact that I am 15 and pregnant, (because) carnal abuse has occurred," she explained.
"It means that if that teenage mother is HIV-positive, (and fails to go to the doctor) no HIV testing will be done, she will not receive antiretroviral (drugs) and it means that the odds of that baby being born HIV-positive will increase a hundred fold," Dr. Baker added.
"We implemented this policy without thinking about something like that (pregnant teenagers shying away from care)," she said.
According to Dr. Baker, Jamaica has an almost 100 per cent birth without transmission rate because once it is found that a pregnant mother is HIV-positive, antiretroviral drugs are prescribed.
"The battle we (are) winning on HIV over there, we could lose on that side," she warned.
Unaware of HIV/AIDS status
Data from the Ministry of Health show that of the 25,000 persons that are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS, 15,000 are unaware of their status.
"I think it (mandatory reporting) has value, but if you look at the research evidence, mandatory reporting is not without its problems," Dr. Baker told The Sunday Gleaner.
"But we like quick-fixing and, in Jamaica, we like the punitive model - lock them up," she added.
According to her, if parents are locked up for failing to report, it means that children would have to be put into institutional care and more prisons would have to be built to accommodate parents.
"We know now that institutional care is the least effective form of care for children. A bad home is better than an institution - that's what the international research evidence says," she said.
"Not a bad home left by itself -a bad home with even modest intervention is even better than an institution," added Dr. Baker, who is also a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
The consultant noted that some consideration has to be given to cases like these.
"We have to sort out some of these contradictions and social workers are among those who have to do it.
Email: petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com
The Jamaica Association of Social Workers
Dr. Peta-Anne Baker, a consultant with the Jamaica Association of Social Workers (JASW) says the organisation is moving to accredit and register social workers.
"We are more and more persuaded that we need to have a process of registration and accreditation of social workers because of the increasing complexity of the economic reality we are operating in," she told The Sunday Gleaner.
"Worldwide, we are more and more coming to accept the fact that the people we serve ... have a right to know what to expect when they come to a social worker or agency."
Standards
She noted that no professional group should be afraid of having standards by which they are judged and should be required to live up to those standards and be accountable for their performance.
The accreditation and registration of social workers would require legislation, and Dr. Baker has predicted that the system should be in place in another two to three years.
One of the things that will accompany the process of registration and accreditation is a requirement for ongoing professional education.
