分类： society

Against a rising tide of allegations of sexual abuse of students by educators across Jamaica, senior child protection officials have called for urgent systemic changes to close gaps that allow predatory educators to move between schools and reoffend. At a public discussion series hosted by the University of Technology, Jamaica, focused on strengthening national frameworks to protect children from sexual abuse, Keisha Rodriguez-Mills, director of investigations, inspections and compliance at the Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA), outlined key gaps in the current system that put minors at continued risk.

Rodriguez-Mills pointed to a dangerous, widespread misconception among school administrators that an abusive educator’s resignation resolves the issue. Many school leaders adopt a false sense of security after an accused educator steps down, only for that individual to secure a position at a new institution and repeat their harmful behavior, she explained.

While Rodriguez-Mills noted that overall reporting of child sexual abuse has climbed in recent years, including more reports from children themselves, significant barriers to full accountability remain. A disproportionate share of new reports now center on educator misconduct against students, she confirmed, and a troubling pattern of underreporting has emerged around grooming of adolescent male victims. Many adolescent boys choose not to come forward with reports of abuse, in part due to harmful societal stereotypes that dismiss such reports as unmanly or “girly”. In most cases of male grooming abuse, it is a peer who becomes aware of the harm and files a report on the victim’s behalf. Rodriguez-Mills framed this trend as a small positive sign, indicating that public education campaigns are teaching children to recognize and report inappropriate behavior.

To stem the cycle of abuse, Rodriguez-Mills argued that public awareness and training efforts must extend beyond working current school staff to include reforming pre-service training at Jamaican teachers’ colleges. Currently, most teacher training programs focus almost exclusively on curriculum delivery, lesson planning and practical teaching requirements, leaving new educators unprepared to navigate appropriate boundaries with students, she said. Training must emphasize that teachers hold adult authority and are never permitted to engage in inappropriate interactions, even when a student expresses romantic attention toward an educator.

Rodriguez-Mills also called on all school principals to implement mandatory, regular orientation sessions that outline appropriate professional boundaries for all new hires and existing staff, warning that the OCA has repeatedly documented the tragic outcomes when this basic step is skipped.

She detailed a common harmful pattern that enables cross-school reoffending: when an allegation of abuse arises against a teacher, the educator often resigns mid-investigation. Facing staffing shortages, many schools treat the departure as a resolution to the problem, failing to document the allegations or report them to national education authorities. The abusive educator then relocates – sometimes across the island, from Kingston to far-flung parishes like Westmoreland – and is hired by a new school that has no warning of prior allegations. It is only when the educator reoffends at the new campus that the new principal contacts the previous employer, where leaders often admit they never documented or reported the original claims.

To fix this gap, Rodriguez-Mills urged all schools to report all credible allegations of abuse to Jamaica’s Ministry of Education, to maintain permanent records of claims regardless of whether the educator resigns, and to avoid rushing to hire staff simply to fill vacancies even when stretched thin by understaffing. She also called on educators to be more attuned to student behavior: when students withdraw from a class or avoid a specific staff member, leaders should not automatically assume the student is misbehaving. In many cases, this withdrawal is a sign the student feels uncomfortable or unsafe around the educator, requiring closer examination.

Joining Rodriguez-Mills at the forum, Florene Clarke, an inspector of police and sub-officer in charge of the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA), praised the work of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) to address the issue. The JTA has partnered with CISOCA to deliver training on appropriate boundaries, grooming prevention and the legal and ethical consequences of inappropriate relationships with students to educators and trainee teachers across all Jamaican teachers’ colleges. While Clarke noted that law enforcement has made progress, including arresting abusive educators and school staff, she acknowledged that systemic change will take sustained effort. CISOCA will continue to proactively partner with educational institutions to deliver training and build capacity to protect children, she confirmed.

Dr Warren Thompson, director of intake investigation, court and adoption services at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency, added context on the scope of the crisis, noting that the majority of reported child sexual abuse cases involve sexual activity with a minor under 16 years old. Thompson said that 90 percent of all reported abuse cases target girls, but significant challenges remain in prosecuting perpetrators even when reports are filed, often due to a lack of sufficient evidence to move cases forward to police investigation.

While girls make up the majority of victims, Thompson confirmed that abuse of boys is also widespread and drastically underreported. Most reports of male victimization involve only severe cases of buggery, while claims of grooming, sexual touching and other lesser forms of abuse rarely make it to authorities, despite the fact that grooming affects both boys and girls across Jamaica.

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Seven months after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa left significant damage across the northern portion of the Jamaican parish of Manchester, local municipal leaders have confirmed that pre-season mitigation work is well underway to ready the region for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially kicked off this Monday.

Donovan Mitchell, chairman of the Manchester Municipal Corporation and mayor of Mandeville, shared updates on preparedness efforts in an interview with the Jamaica Observer, emphasizing that the local government has taken a proactive approach to risk reduction ahead of the season’s historically most active late period.

“We know the first two to three months of hurricane season are typically not very active, but activity picks up sharply as we move into the later months. Our goal is to have every measure in place long before a storm threat arrives, so we are fully ready for any outcome,” Mitchell explained. “Right now, Manchester is roughly 80 percent prepared. We are confident we can respond effectively if any storm impacts our parish this year.”

Mitchell recalled that while the municipality had preparation measures in place ahead of last year’s storm, Melissa, which made landfall on October 28, brought unprecedented, unexpected damage that tested local response capacity.

In this year’s preparedness push, the municipal government has prioritized inspecting and repairing emergency public shelters across the parish. Of the original 86 shelters the parish once maintained, 55 are now certified ready for use, while the remaining 31 sustained irreversible or complex damage during Melissa and have not yet been restored. All active shelters now feature accessible ramps to accommodate people with physical disabilities, and a specialized shelter for vulnerable people with mental health conditions will be hosted at Mandeville Primary School, which has been fully retrofitted for this purpose. Administrators are also updating the roster of shelter managers, noting that while some long-serving managers have retired, replacement staff have already been lined up to fill any gaps ahead of a storm event.

The parish’s central warehouse for pre-positioned hurricane relief supplies has also been fully repaired following damage from last year’s storm. Mitchell noted that this storage facility is critical to the local response, as municipal teams act as first responders in the immediate aftermath of a storm. Having emergency supplies on site ensures the parish can support residents even if national government agencies are delayed in reaching Manchester due to widespread damage across other regions of the country.

Later this week, on Thursday, the municipality will host a meeting of its Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Committee, with all key local disaster response stakeholders invited to attend to align coordination plans ahead of the season. Specialized response equipment is already on standby for rapid deployment if needed.

Funding from the Ministry of Local Government has allowed the parish to ramp up drain cleaning work across Manchester, with a major push scheduled to begin across the parish in June. The municipality has also prioritized repairs to parochial roads, which fall under its jurisdiction (main national roads are managed by the National Works Agency and national government lawmakers).

Currently, repair work is ongoing on Mollison Road near Christiana, which collapsed during last year’s hurricane. Restoring this road is a top priority, as it would cut off access to roughly 1,000 local residents if left unrepaired ahead of the new season. Mitchell added that most other parochial roads are already in good condition, following recently completed repairs on high-traffic routes including McKinley Road, Brumalia Road, Wint Road, and Ward Avenue, all of which are heavily used by motorists traveling to and from Mandeville. Local city councilors are conducting individual assessments of roads in their districts to address any remaining hazards.

The municipality is currently in discussions with Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, to secure additional funding for remaining repair and preparedness projects, and is awaiting a response on further support.

Beyond municipal-led work, Mitchell is calling on local residents to take personal responsibility for maintaining clear drains near their homes after municipal crews complete cleaning. The municipal government enforces a zero-tolerance policy for blocked drains, which are a major cause of preventable flooding during hurricane events. Crews are already conducting inspections of drains that cross private property to address illegal encroachment or blockages, and Mitchell urged residents to avoid dumping plastic, garbage, or other debris in drainage infrastructure.

Mitchell also highlighted specific ongoing risks from roadside garages and active construction sites, where operators frequently dump building materials including sand and marl along road shoulders. Heavy rain can wash these materials into drains, causing widespread blockages. Under the Parochial Roads Act, the municipal council has the authority to set time limits for temporary placement of construction materials on public roads. If operators fail to remove materials after receiving official notice, the council will remove the materials at the operator’s expense. The mayor also issued a warning for residents to remove derelict vehicles that block drainage pathways, particularly along roads used for informal garages, noting that unclaimed vehicles will be removed by the council ahead of the storm season.

On Tuesday, Jamaica’s government formally announced a long-awaited staggered 16% taxi fare increase, splitting the adjustment into two 8% increments set to roll out in June and July this year. The policy announcement immediately drew a spectrum of reactions across public passenger vehicle (PPV) operator circles, ranging from reluctant acceptance to open frustration, with many drivers pointing out that runaway operating costs have already pushed them to charge rates well above the government’s approved caps for months.

A hackney carriage driver operating the busy Half-Way Tree to Spanish Town route, who goes by the name Shortman, summed up a common contradiction among drivers. Many operators have already bumped up fares twice on their own without waiting for official authorization, he explained, questioning why his peers are still publicly agitating for a formal hike. “Most of them aren’t collecting the recommended [fare]; everybody [collecting more] so what are you bawling for an increase for?” Shortman said. Fellow route operator Junior echoed that observation, noting that when the 16% increase was paused earlier this year, drivers simply implemented the full hike on their own regardless of official approval.

The government’s new timeline places the first 8% increase into effect starting June 2, with the second 8% adjustment kicking in on July 1, according to Transport Minister Daryl Vaz, who made the announcement at a press briefing. The 16% increase itself was not a new request: back in October 2023, the cabinet approved a total 35% fare hike for PPVs, of which only 19% was immediately implemented. The remaining 16% was scheduled to go live in April 2024, but unforeseen adverse economic shifts forced the government to delay the adjustment. After that delay, Minister Vaz brought the proposal to Cabinet to decide between a full immediate increase and a phased rollout, a plan that was originally rejected by operators who pushed for a one-time adjustment.

Vaz defended the phased approach, framing it as a deliberate compromise between two competing priorities: addressing the rising operational costs that have squeezed PPV drivers, and shielding commuters from the immediate shock of a full double-digit fare hike. He also outlined concrete adjusted fares for popular routes across the country. After the first June adjustment, for example, the St Ann to Ocho Rios route taxi fare will rise from JMD $200 to $220, the Eltham Park to Spanish Town fare will climb from $160 to $170, the rural Ocho Rios to Kingston stage carriage fare will go from $560 to $610, and the Mandeville to May Pen fare will increase from $290 to $310. After the second July adjustment, those same fares will shift again: the St Ann’s Bay to Ocho Rios route will rise from $220 to $240, Eltham Park to Spanish Town will hit $190, Ocho Rios to Kingston will reach $660, and Mandeville to May Pen will settle at $330.

Still, major PPV industry associations have made clear that while they will accept the government’s decision, they remain deeply unsatisfied with the staggered timeline. Egerton Newman, president of the Transport Operators Development Sustainable Services (TODSS), told the Jamaica Observer that the association still prefers a one-time 16% implementation, but recognized that government constraints forced the phased rollout. Even with the full 16% increase, Newman argued, the adjustment is far too little after years of waiting. “After waiting three years and now just getting $10 it doesn’t cut it,” he said, predicting that many drivers will already add extra unapproved charges to fares immediately regardless of the government’s timeline.

Leon Patterson, head of the Independent Taxi Association, echoed that frustration, noting that the 16% increase was originally approved two years ago as part of a scheduled fare review cycle. By the time it is fully implemented, he argued, inflation will have already eroded the entire value of the adjustment. “Inflation has already taken away that 16 per cent. What we have to do now is accept the 16 per cent and we move forward to prepare a submission for another fare increase because what the 16 per cent is, is just an adjustment to the fare structure that was granted two years ago, so we are just getting what was granted two years ago,” Patterson explained.

Charles Powell, president of the Southern Taxi Association based in St Elizabeth, shared a similar prediction to Newman: that most independent drivers will not wait for July to implement the full 16% increase, and will bump fares to the full final rate immediately. “From my standpoint, knowing the operators out there they are not going to take it in two parts, they are going to take it in one… It is not like a company, it is a one-to-one, and so you will find them operate like that,” Powell said, adding that he opposes the two-phase structure but has no choice but to accept the government’s final decision.

For his part, Minister Vaz issued a sharp warning to operators considering unapproved arbitrary fare increases above the government’s new phased rates. “I don’t want those persons who have raised their fares arbitrarily and illegally already to now do another fare increase on this Government’s announced increase. If you do so, you are going to feel the brunt of the law and the regulations from Transport Authority and from the Jamaica Constabulary Force,” Vaz said. He also urged commuters to report overcharging directly to regulators via WhatsApp or the official transport hotline, noting that enforcement efforts cannot succeed without public support. “I’m making an appeal today: Anybody that sees this happening, you have enough ways and means to communicate… because we are not going to be able to enforce it without the help of the citizens of this country. So I say that as a warning and hope that it will be listened to and adhered to,” he added.