Child advocates outline priority areas for legal review
A centre dedicated to advocacy for children should be created as part of a re-examination of the Children Act 1998 that was promised by the Government, a charity has said.
Debi Ray-Rivers, the founder of Saving Children and Revealing Secrets, said the facility, which would bring certain child protection services under one roof, should be founded on the principles of centres around the world.
Ms Ray-Rivers was speaking in response to the announcement in the Throne Speech of a “full review” coming for the Children Act.
The agenda said the review of the Act aims to ensure that “its provisions are in keeping with modern best practice, flexible enough to handle the additional dimensions of caring for children in 2025”.
Sandy De Silva, the executive director of Family Centre, said that the Act would benefit from a holistic approach that meets international standards and “truly protects the physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing of all children”, while strengthening early intervention measures.
Ms Ray-Rivers said of her hopes for a child advocacy centre in Bermuda: “All free services should be offered in the same purpose-built space and a multidisciplinary team should be co-ordinated to handle abuse allegations.
“The centre should provide a child-friendly, nurturing environment, minimising further trauma. It should provide family advocacy, forensic interviews, medical services and mental health support, and any long-term rehabilitative measures.”
Ms Ray-Rivers said assessment, monitoring and addressing adherence to the Act were among the priority actions.
The National Child Safeguarding Committee was launched in 2019 followed by the National Child Safeguarding Policy in 2023.
Child safeguarding is a requirement for organisations receiving government grants.
Ms Ray-Rivers said it was important to include on the committee NGOs directly offering mental health services to children and families, and education and awareness communities. She said research should be conducted into the execution, promotion and co-ordination of national incidences of sexual abuse.
She added: “It should include the development and implementation of awareness training to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse.
“It should encourage and support private-sector initiatives to prevent child sexual abuse, while all organisation employees and volunteers entrusted with care of children should be mandated to receive certified Sexual Abuse Prevention Training every three years, be subject to criminal background checks every three years, and be aware of implemented codes of conduct and safe policies [and mandate for the creation of theses policies].”
Dr De Silva said that while the Children Act includes “progressive elements” such as the welfare principle and mandatory reporting of abuse, it is important to ensure alignment with international best practices.
She added: “For instance, the Act does not yet reflect risks that have emerged in recent years, such as online exploitation, cyberbullying and exposure to harmful digital content, psychological and coercive abuse, which may not present with physical evidence but cause severe trauma, and social isolation, a growing concern post-pandemic.”
Kelly Hunt, the executive director of the Coalition for the Protection of Children, said outcomes of the review of the Children Act should include further data collection from multiple agencies, improved software for law enforcement, as well as online child safety control support for caregivers and learning institutions.
“Digital dangers will continue to escalate and parameters must be established within the law, institutions and among private sectors of the community,” she said.
Ms Hunt added: “Since the amendments made in 2019, it is encouraging that an additional review of the Children Act will take place.
“However, we have seen inconsistencies within sentencing guidelines and it is one of the main reasons why a lack of faith in the system persists.
“Reporting abuse in Bermuda continues to be impeded by slow responses, limited protection for victims and light sentences for perpetrators.
“When it comes to the abuse of children, Section 19 only outlines a minimal fine of up to $3,000 with a small sentence of six months for the mistreatment, abandonment, etc, of a child.
“By extending this to a significant fine with increased penalty, we are declaring that we have no tolerance for intentional harm against children and that we place children at a higher value than has previously been legislated.”
Ms Hunt said full consultation including with child agencies ahead of any final review of the Children Act was critical.
She added: “For too long, government departments, law enforcement and helping agencies have all sat in their silos duplicating efforts or passing the buck.
“This has resulted in children falling through the cracks and not receiving the critical support they deserve. This must change if we are going to do better with child safeguarding.”
Dr De Silva said that the Act in its present form focused significantly on crisis response and that it would be helpful for a revised law to mandate investment in early intervention, family preservation and community-based supports.
She said: “This would include mental health education in schools, parenting support programmes and youth-focused, culturally competent outreach initiatives.
“We cannot legislate after harm has already occurred. Children and families need upstream support to thrive before they fall into crisis.”
Dr De Silva encouraged alignment with globally accepted standards including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Council of Europe Guidelines on Child-Friendly Justice, and the Inspire strategies to end violence against children (World Health Organisation and Unicef).
She added: “Alignment of the Children Act with amendments to other local Acts, such as the Young Offenders Act 1950, is also important and key to ensuring that our legislation is clear and consistent …
“There is also room for better alignment between the Children Act and the Parental Responsibility Act 2010. For example, consideration of explicit reference to the Parental Responsibility Act in the Children Act.
“A new section could clarify how and when parenting orders or civil actions under the Parental Responsibility Act may trigger or relate to assessments and interventions under the Children Act.”
The Children Act was designed to protect children from all forms of abuse.
Measures included making it mandatory for professionals who suspect child abuse to report their fears to social workers, and the creation of a Child Abuse Register of those convicted in child abuse cases.
Those most at risk could, under the Act, be removed from their home and placed with foster parents or in a children's home, and the granting of emergency orders was enabled in some cases, allowing children to be pulled out of unsafe homes.
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