Participants at the National Child Protection Town Hall Meeting are calling for stronger legal consequences against parents and other adults who protect perpetrators, intimidate victims or knowingly facilitate the exploitation of children.

The recommendations emerged during Tuesday night’s meeting hosted by the Ministry of Social and Urban Transformation.

Contributors said existing laws and policies must be supported by enforcement, adequate staffing, safe housing and better coordination among social services, police, schools, healthcare providers and the courts.

Among the proposals was the introduction or strengthening of penalties for parents who knowingly protect people accused or convicted of abusing children.

There were also calls for consequences against individuals who intimidate survivors, threaten foster parents or attempt to prevent child-protection officers from carrying out their duties.

Director of Family and Social Services Feona Charles-Richards said consideration should also be given to making attendance at parenting and counselling programmes mandatory in certain cases.

She said free counselling and parenting workshops are already available, but many of the parents who most need those services do not attend voluntarily.

Charles-Richards also highlighted gaps under the Child Justice Act, questioning what happens when parents fail to help children comply with court-ordered or rehabilitative requirements.

Participants called for a government-operated safe house or foster facility, additional foster placements and increased staffing for agencies handling child-protection matters.

Concern was also raised about the need for professional training for people who work with children, including teachers, police officers, healthcare workers and other mandatory reporters.

The meeting heard that personnel across the child-protection system are overwhelmed and often operate beyond their available resources.

Another recommendation involved streamlining reporting procedures and launching a national education campaign explaining how residents can identify abuse, where reports should be made and what victims and families should expect after making a report.

Minister Rawdon Turner agreed that bottlenecks within the system must be addressed.

He said social workers, police officers, healthcare professionals and educators may gather information and evidence, but cases can still become stalled before reaching a satisfactory conclusion.

Turner said the Government could change policies and laws, but the entire protection chain must function if those changes are to benefit children.