KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) says that the majority of the 1,632 reports it received in 2013 were related to sexual intercourse with minors.
Information from CISOCA, included in the Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica (ESSJ) 2103 which was tabled in the House of Representatives last Thursday, revealed that the centre received 625 reports of sexual intercourse involving children under 16 years old.
This was followed by rape at 316. Other reported offences were: sexual touching, 85; cruelty to child, 79; buggery, 30; incest, 9; and abduction, 4.
CISOCA says that 903 of the reports it handled last year involved children between the ages of 11 and 15; 359 involved children aged 16-17; 110 involved children aged 5-10 years old; and 21 involved children age 0-4 years old.
CISOCA, a unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), says it continues to partner with the Child Development Agency (CDA), the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) and the Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA), as well as other agencies, to investigate the reports, make referrals for child victims and make arrests.
Incidentally, these figures only reflect the original reports made about a particular child, and do not include subsequent reports made to the OCR regarding the same incident, or any other incident of abuse pertaining to the same child.
Balford Henry