Perpetrators were Known and Trusted

Tanya Santos

There has been widespread condemnation on social media as the victims were assaulted by people they and their families know and trusted – and not strangers. C.E.O. Santos says that the abuse of our children cuts across all sectors of society and requires constant vigilance.

Tanya Santos, C.E.O., Ministry of Families

“Abuse of our children does not know any socio-economic background; it can happen to any child, it can happen to anyone out there. It is like domestic violence, it is like COVID – it doesn’t discriminate. So not because you come from a well to do family or you come from a poor family, it doesn’t mean that it can’t happen to any particular child. So with that in mind, we have to be very careful, we have to be vigilant of who we put in charge of our children when we are not around. We need to make sure that we listen to our children, we engage them. If they are telling us something is wrong, believe them, err on the side of caution because we don’t want a situation where oh it can’t be true, you are exaggerating or you did something that made auntie or uncle upset when in fact it could be real and we even further traumatise our children. So let’s be very careful and vigilant with the care of our children. They are depending on us for that and that is our role as parents and guardians.”