Over 200 child-abuse cases reported in 2025 to date

The Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud, has revealed that 275 child-abuse cases have thus far been addressed in 2025, following a total of 4,038 such cases having been reported in 2024.
The categories of abuse include physical, emotional sexual, verbal, and neglect, among others; and a breakdown of child sexual abuse cases by region for 2024 shows that the highest number of cases were reported in Region Four, 466, followed by Region 2 with 181 cases. Region One recorded 51 cases, Region Three 145, Region Five 83, Region Six 147, Region Seven 10, Region Eight 21, Region Nine 50 and Region Ten 48.
During a press conference on Saturday, Minister Dr Persaud disclosed that work is ongoing to enhance the protection of children, among which are parenting programs, training initiatives, and collaborations with various stakeholders.
“To have that happen the way we want it to happen requires education, requires information, and requires capacity-building within the Child Care and Protection Agency; and also requires us to interface with stakeholders, parents and caregivers of children,” she explained.

“Over time, we would have delivered a number of programs, and a few of those programs involve our parenting program; this was a new initiative that was developed. A trainer-of-the- trainers’ manual was developed, a workbook for parents, and this program is in the early stages, where we work with parents on parenting techniques and skills when it comes to raising children and dealing with the various dimensions of child care,” Dr Persaud detailed.
The Child Advocacy Centres, managed in partnership with ChildLink and Blossom Incorporated, play a crucial role in handling sexual abuse cases; and Dr Persaud told the media on Saturday that Government funding for these agencies has exceeded $130 million to support forensic interviews and child protection services in all regions.
“So, in dealing with our rapid response team, this was realized when we started two years ago,” she disclosed.
“The Street Light program, removing children from the streets, this program is an ongoing program, and we have continually removed children from the streets. And not only removed them, but worked with their family on things like employment if their family members require that; counselling; and also working with the children not to have recurrence. But it was felt that we need to move beyond the hours of work at the Child Care and Protection Agency,” she explained.
“Currently, we have officers in all of the regions. We have a total of 48 officers in all regions across the country…and when there are cases that are peculiar to sexual abuse, we have the child advocacy centres. This is in partnership with ChildLink and Blossom Inc., and they have been heavily subsidized by Government,” she detailed.

Call for public responsibility
In a direct appeal to the media and the general public, Dr. Persaud has urged that cases of child abuse be reported directly to the Child Care and Protection Agency. Emphasising that the law mandates the protection of children, she warned against sharing children’s images on social media because it can cause psychological harm.
Labelling a case as sexual abuse or otherwise in the public domain can intensify a child’s trauma, she advised.
“At the end of the day, we must always remember that the child is the one who has to live with the consequences,” she admonished. “They go to school, live in communities, and must deal with what has happened to them. Let’s ensure we act in a way that truly protects them.”