Just a month ago, the heartbreaking news of the suspected suicide of 13-year-old, Twaine Jaheim Skyers of Lilliput, St. James, Jamaica rocked the nation. His story captured my attention, and Jamaica still mourns the tragic loss.
Sources report that Twaine, a 13-year-old second-form student, was beaten by his mother after returning home late from school, violating a recently imposed curfew. Following the beating, a search discovered him unresponsive at his home, and he was later pronounced dead at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.
Twaine’s story exposes a painful truth: violence against children – often disguised as discipline – continues to claim lives. Twaine’s vulnerable soul could not withstand the violence he faced at home. In his desperate attempt to escape the abuse he endured, he lost both his life and the unalienable rights afforded to every child. His right to breathe. His right to exist. His right to laugh. His right to cry. His right to make something of himself. His right to become the best version of himself. His right to see the world, grow old, and indulge in experiences as his soul desired. His right to be Twaine. These unalienable rights – the birthright of every child – were all stolen from him.
The purpose of this post is not to present a sugar-coated or diluted version of the truth, but to face the painful reality of the circumstances that have robbed a vulnerable child of their very existence. I wish to call attention to the brutal reality of injustice and inhumanity towards children – globally, and with particular urgency, in my homeland, Jamaica: “Jamaica, Land We Love.”
A Nation Still Beating Its Children
Growing up in Jamaica decades ago and observing the events of today – in what should be a modern, enlightened era – it is painfully clear that nothing has changed. Mi seh nutten nuh change. The readiness of some parents to reach for the “rod” – as in my days and those before – rather than considering and embracing other forms of discipline is both disturbing and heartbreaking. Beating your child is not discipline. It is a harmful, outdated, and lazy form of parenting. Resorting to beating reflects a lack of guidance, not love. It breeds fear and resentment.
Beyond this tragedy lies a deeper national question: why, in a society that claims progress, does violence against our children remain so normalized? According to the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child, corporal or physical punishment refers to any punishment involving physical force with the intent to cause some degree of pain or discomfort. This involves hitting, spanking, slapping with the hand or an object, or even pinching, scratching, or biting.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child (which guides State parties in understanding the Convention) explicitly describes corporal punishment as “invariably degrading.” They further hold that corporal punishment or degrading forms of punishment are forms of violence, and Article 19 of the Convention obligates States to protect children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury, abuse, or maltreatment while under the care of another person.
Children’s Rights are Human Rights
The Committee makes clear that corporal punishment is incompatible with the inalienable rights of children to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity. Indeed, they posit that corporal punishment has a harmful impact on children, and it violates their human rights.
Globally, humanity has long transcended the days of masters beating slaves, men beating their wives, or law enforcement beating prisoners and criminals. Today, these acts are shunned and condemned as improper, inhumane, and callous. Alas, it is not even acceptable to beat animals, as there are animal rights groups and activists who swiftly decry those practices while sparking public outrage. Yet, one group remains legally unprotected from assault. That is, society’s most vulnerable – our children.
The same protection of adults from assault should be afforded to children. Parents and caregivers should not be allowed to assault their children without any consequences. Research has shown that in nearly 70% of child physical abuse cases in the U.S., the goal was actually to discipline the child. However, the line is blurred at best, and the physical discipline of children easily crosses over into abuse. As for faith-based justifications of corporal punishment, the Committee reminds us that the practice of one’s religion must be “consistent with respect for others’ human dignity and physical integrity.”
The Hidden Wounds We Leave on Our Children
Beating or physically punishing children has numerous harmful effects. Most tragically, the loss of life, as in the case of Twaine, a young vulnerable child, who would sadly succumb to these cruel and degrading forms of treatment. The physical and mental health effects are damaging and can present and linger throughout the life course. Further, beating your child sends the wrong the message to children. It demonstrates disrespect for human rights as articulated by the Committee. It also teaches them that violence is a part of loving relationships, and children grow up to use similar maladaptive behaviors later in life. Lastly, beating your children teaches them that people in power can use violence to control others, as violence is often used in asymmetric relationships.
My fellow Jamaicans, we must do better. The experience of conception and gestation, along with being a child’s caregiver does not grant anyone the right to inflict physical harm as a method of discipline. Our children are not property, and they are not objects. They are autonomous beings that deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
Breaking the Cycle
Violence is not the answer; it is never the answer. Existence in any modern society necessitates the use of adaptive strategies when relating to others, even its youngest members. Would you reach for a belt to discipline your spouse/partner when there is a disagreement? Or slap your neighbor when you are at odds with each other? Of course not. What makes you think it is okay to assault a child under any circumstance then?
Breaking the chain of generational violence requires educating parents about positive, non-violent forms of discipline and enacting policies that prohibit physical punishment in every setting. Investing in programs that promote child welfare and support healthy family relationships is a crucial step toward lasting change.
A Jamaica that protects and cherishes its children will be one that is truly progressing. Let us be the generation that ends the cycle of violence where our youngest and most vulnerable members are shaped by love and not fear, and where discipline no longer means destruction.
My fellow Jamaicans, it is time fi stop lickin unu pickney.
References
- Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2006). General Comment No. 8: The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment (CRC/C/GC/8). United Nations. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/566013
- United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Treaty Series, 1577, 3. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child
