Invest in Children - says UN representative

Special representative of the UN Secretary General on violence against children, Marta Santos Pais is reminding Jamaica of the benefits of investing in children.       

She was addressing a conference in Kingston on Wednesday to report on a two day UN meeting on violence prevention.

“We have learnt that by investing in the youngest children in our societies, we help develop them in the best way possible, to be successful in school, to have good health and to feel reassured when they are victims of violence or abuse,” she said.

And Youth Minister, Lisa Hanna, noted that communities must play a part in the prevention of violence against children.

“We can check all the boxes we want to check in terms of implementing laws and creating policies but the culture has to change …. You can have as many laws as you’d like to but you will not have the successful feeling of those laws,” she stated.