Clinical Consultant at the Grand Bahama Resilience Center is commenting on the rise in child abuse cases in the country.
Dr. Andy Laing told ZNS News, “according to reports there were about 382 cases of reported child abuse cases in The Bahamas in the year 2021. And that is alarming, it is a cause for concern and it highlights just how pervasive and how common, how prevalent child abuse has become or is becoming.”
Laing also stated factors that can lead to abuse. “So parents who abuse substances, according to research, are more likely to abuse their children than parents who do not use substance abuse. Economic factors may be another contributing factor. The stress that arises from that can have a negative impact on parents and can result in them either intentionally or unintentionally abusing their children,” Laing said.
To aid in lessening child abuse in the country Dr. Laing suggests more stringent measures, more stringent ramifications for child abuse can be formulated to serve as a deterrent and support for parents suspected of being abusers by various institutions in the community.
