Need to ‘record suspicious deaths’
“They’re really interesting. I’ve never seen it worked out this way,” she said. “It highlights the vulnerability of children, how often in so many ways they are victims, for all these figures are individual children.
“I’m concerned that, as a country, are we taking the necessary steps to prevent these offences? I know we can’t prevent them all.”
She said some of the figures were rising: “You have to try and figure out if it’s a real increase in the problem or greater awareness and greater reporting.”
She was particularly interested in the sharp rise in abandoning of child cases: “It’s very hard to know are children suffering more, and is there a genuine increase, or are the public, neighbours and families reporting more.”
She said most abandoning cases were child neglect and the figures suggested more parents had an “inability to cope” due to factors such as homelessness, domestic violence and addiction.
She said the figures might be just the “more extreme cases” and only a “small percentage” of what was referred to the HSE. The HSE mode was family support, particularly in cases of neglect, and not a criminal justice perspective. “The question is how to respond? Is it to criminalise the parents, who might have mental health or addiction difficulties and who are not intentionally neglecting or hurting the child?”
She said better family supports were needed to address the problem, but added: “Ireland is very weak on family support.”
She said she found the figures on human trafficking “deeply worrying” as the outcome was “sexual and labour exploitation” for the children. But she congratulated the gardaí and the Department of Justice for concentrating on the issue.
Ms Corbett said previous research done by them had suggested a lot of crime in the community against children – such as minor assaults and robberies – were committed by young people.
“It’s young on young. How do we deal with it at community level as it is very difficult for the young person to report it? They might see their perpetrators on a daily basis, such as in school.”
She said the low prosecution rates showed the difficulty in children, and their parents, pursuing cases.
“There is a real reluctance among parents and children to bring children through the system. It is not child friendly, it is traumatising. If hearings are delayed, the child has to hold on to it for years.”
Ms Corbett said Ireland needed a system – like in other jurisdictions – to record all child deaths that were suspicious, including homicides.
* Contact: 01 6629400 or www.childrensrights.ie
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