Minister of Social Development, Frederick Stephenson has called for greater action to be taken to address the issue of emotional abuse of this nation’s children.
Emotional abuse of a child is commonly defined as a pattern of behavior by parents or caregivers that can seriously interfere with a child’s cognitive, emotional, psychological or social development. It involves deliberately trying to scare or humiliate a child or isolating or ignoring them.
Minister Stephenson in a national address on Monday to mark the start of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month which is being celebrated in April said the signs of emotional abuse can be very hard to detect since an emotionally mistreated child may show no outward signs of abuse.
He said it is for this reason that emotional abuse is the most difficult form of child abuse to identify and stop.
Minister Stephenson, whose Ministry is responsible for Child Care and Development, noted that parents and caregivers need to be careful about the phrases they use when uttering displeasure at a child’s action.
