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Prime Minister Andrew Holness
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says there is outright abuse of children across Jamaica that is being mistaken as instilling discipline.
Mr. Holness says legislation to ban corporal punishment across all spheres of the society will seek to address the problem.
He was reacting to a viral video of a woman abusing a child believed to be her daughter.
In the 14-second clip, the child is seen on the floor while the woman proceeds to kick and stomp on her head and neck.
The woman has been asked to report to the police.
Mr. Holness said the cultural propensity to use violence to resolve conflict is troubling.
"If a child makes a mistake then that mistake is going to be corrected with a slap. It is as if we are not able to reason with our children to understand that they don't have as much knowledge and information experience as we do and we have to have patience with them.
"But then there is also the issue that there are many parents who themselves are in trauma, they are suffering, they experience hurt and what was taught to them was to deal with these challenges through aggression, and so it transcends from generation to generation. So there is these multiple generation challenges that we have to deal with," he lamented.
Education Minister Fayval Williams has said the Child Protection and Family Services Agency is investigating and will remove the child from the home when found.
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