When innocence is injured... Although the country has negligible numbers of acts of child abuse, sexual and lascivious abusecompared with other countries, Cuba has three centers for the Protection of Children and Adolescents, which seek to reduce secondary victimization of children who have suffered violent acts. Ana María Domínguez Cruz “This is a secret between you and me; you cannot tell anyone,” he said as he closed the door. They were alone in the room, surrounded only by the dolls and stuffed animals that stared from the ground, hoping to be chosen to play. “We are going to have so much fun the two of us, and then I'll give you a toy you'll like a lot,” he assured her. “My mom and dad cannot give me so many gifts. He is so good to me!” she thought. “And if we play every day, I will give you a big surprise on your birthday,” he promised later. So she would imagine herself blowing the eight candles on her birthday cake with a Rapunzel Barbie in her hands, just like the one in the movie, with very long hair. To get it, she could not tell anyone, because "secrets are kept so that our wishes can come true." And so each time her parents trusted him to look after her, she "played" at keeping secrets... A child comes first There have been many known cases in the world of violence and child abuse, lew and sexual abuse, and even threats. In Cuba, where children are a priority, very few of these crimes occur compared to other countries, but there are some and these are considered very serious crimes that must be prosecuted. So explains Col. Idais Borges Barrios, Head of the Directorate for Children at the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), who insists that the Cuban government maintains a policy of zero tolerance for crimes committed against children, because “we believe these acts generate irreversible physical, mental and social damage.” “The Cuban state has the necessary legal instruments to ensure the effective protection of those underage, in line with the international principles adopted at the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” added Borges Barrios. "Article 40 of the Constitution of the Republic establishes that children and young people must receive special protection from the state and society. Family, schools, government agencies and social organizations must also contribute to their integral formation.” "We also have the Family and Children Act, as well as Law-Decree 76/84 on Adoption and Foster Care, Law-Decree 64/82, and Law 62/87 or Penal Law." “Cuban Penal Law,” explains the Colonel, “describes precisely the criminal offenses against normal sexual development and against families, children and youth, among which –included in Chapter II– are sexual assault, lewd abuse, rape and violent pedophilia, as well as incest, rape of minors (Chapter II) and crimes related to the corruption, sale and trafficking of children and other acts contrary to the normal development of the child.” "Cuban criminal law also includes the punishment for attempts to commit offenses and the aggravation of the punishment for those who use minors in the commission of a crime.” “Moreover,” she explains, "the immigration authorities of the Ministry of the Interior may order the return to point of origin or expulsion from the country of those who are declared undesirable aliens under the Immigration Act and its Regulations, if their conduct contravenes the principles and interests of society, the state and people of Cuba. If a child is dragged into this situation there is a legal framework to deal with it. " “However, laws, decrees and resolutions alone do not guarantee the protection of the youngest population (under 16 years) which is now of 2 260 751,” says Borges Barrios, “but also the existence of a System of Prevention and Care for Children and Adolescents. To enforce the system, several bodies share responsibility: the Ministries of Education, Health, Justice, Culture, Labor, Social Security, and the Supreme Court, the Attorney General of the Republic and the National Institute for Sports, Physical Education and Recreation, working in conjunction with the mass organizations, the Pioneer Organization and the UJC, among others. Trust in the Authorities “According to recent studies in the field of social sciences carried out by MININT [Ministry of the Interior] and other centers, the perception of risk on this type of crime has increased and there is greater confidence in the performance of the authorities,” said the Head of the Directorate for Children. "Regarding the behavior of the criminal activities that affect children, 54 percent are cases of lascivious abuse, 25 percent of corruption of minors, rape and abusive sex, and 21 percent, incest and pedophilia." “The Juvenile Division of MININT has an extraordinary mission,” says Borges Barrios, “dealing with the protection of minors who are victims of crime and in the follow-up measures and punishments for the perpetrators. It is also the duty of this department to work in the prevention and detection of criminal acts committed by children and their evaluation and educational treatment.” “In the investigation of a case after the commission of an offense in which a minor is the victim, the testimony of the child or adolescent is required as part of the investigation and prosecution processes. They are given special treatment.” “That is the reason why we have created three centers for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in the country. These are in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara and Havana, the latter founded on February 8, 2005.” “The purpose of these centers is to reduce secondary victimization of children who have been subjects of violent acts; that is, to prevent their suffering during the criminal process. These are the places where work with them is carried out through exploration,” Borges Barrios explains. “They provide further specialized services in psychology, psychiatry and counseling to children victims and their families,” adds the Colonel. “Children who are exceptionally asked to declare in trials are accompanied by these specialists.” Lieutenant Colonel Niurka Ronda Fernandez, Director of the Center for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in Havana, explained that after a complaint is lodged at a police station (the child does not have to be present) the prevention officer of the Juvenile Department immediately acts to protect the child and coordinates with the Center for the consideration and resolution of the case. "In these centers we receive children under 16 or older, if the act occurred before they were of that age or in cases when their chronological ages do not correspond to their mental ages," said Ronda Fernandez. “The novelty of this approach,” she added, “is that this "conversation" with the case instructor is recorded and is used as an exhibit at the trial, thus releasing the child to appear in it.” What are some of the difficulties that may hinder the process of investigation? “When the abuse or sexual abuse is of domestic origin, i.e., performed by any family member or very close friend, it is more difficult for the child to talk, but in the end this is always achieved. There are also other factors such as age, because younger children do not feel victims of the event and recount it as if it were part of a game; this is not so with adolescents, for example, who feel more shame and fear.” "Child abuse is easy to confirm, because in addition to the physical traces that it can leave, there may be witnesses; but the dialogue with the child in cases of lascivious abuse or sexual abuse, threats or corruption is vital to solving the case and also more delicate and complex," says the Master in Sexuality. What variables are common in this type of event? There may be female aggressors, indirectly, in cases of the corruption of minors, for example, but generally these are marked by violence. Most of the perpetrators are men and their victims are girls, although there are also incidents against boys. "It is important to note that any act of violence which threatens the normal development of the child, that is, sexual abuse or any other form of child abuse, is not unique to a dysfunctional home or people with low literacy levels. These cases can occur within any family and perpetrators do not carry signs on their foreheads that identify them as such," she added. Fernandez Ronda stresses that it is a multidisciplinary team of psychologists, sociologists, doctors, lawyers, sexologists and prosecutors who have the mission of putting together the procedure to be followed with the child, what kind of questions to be asked –not inductive– in keeping with their age, mental development and type of case of which it was a victim. Young lieutenant and psychologist Alina Mena Aniento, who has participated in the investigation of several cases during her two-month performance at the Center, says that the direct work of a psychologist with the child, before carrying out the exploration, is very important because it provides indispensable elements. "If the child or adolescent is unable to speak at that time, they can be referred to a psychiatrist in the center, until he or she is ready." The environment is essential to create a climate of empathy and trust, the specialist added. "So, we work with the child in play halls, and we use projective techniques such as free and family drawing, which are very practicable because children generally reflect their desires and fears in the objects they draw, in the colors they use, the dimensions and traces.” Dialogue with a young child requires patience, and it is often very complex, but with a teenager the challenge is greater, insists Mena Aniento. "Teens can describe the events and the dialogue can flow better, but it can also be very difficult, given that they do have a higher risk perception. They know the legal consequences of the processes, and sometimes want to protect their relatives or acquaintances. The psychologist must be well-prepared, and although he or she may not be present at the exploration, it must follow the process on the other side of the monitor, as there are cases of teenagers who lie or conceal relevant information." The audiovisual material obtained, explains recording technician Ana Mercedes García, includes not only what the child or adolescent says with words, but also its state of anxiety: their face, their gestures. "Their non-verbal language is also revealing; none of that is manipulated or provoked. We have its spontaneous reaction through a conversation in which they tell what has happened. During this conversation a prosecutor is always present –on the other side of the screen– to protect the best interests of the child." The Director of the Center points out that as part of the specialist team there are also defectologists, for the care and supervision of children with disabilities or children under four years of age. Major Noemi Morales Guirola, defectologist of the Center since 2008, recognizes that her work is an essential link in the process of working with the child who has been the victim of a crime, but at the same time it is very difficult. When you have your own children, she adds, it is almost impossible not to be sensitive to the situations here, but we do know that the full development of a child is the most important thing. "Inter-disciplinary coordination is vital in the work prior to the exploration, and before carrying it out we coordinate the set of questions that will be asked, and determine –among other issues– whether it is necessary to have the presence of a familiar figure with which the child has a greater affinity.” "When the case is clarified and legal measures are applied, the Center keeps track of the child, because although not the most common, there may be cases of repetition, especially when it comes to dysfunctional families or environments. Therefore we provide consultation services of Psychiatry and Psychology, work in 57r |
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Cuando se hiere la inocencia…
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