CHILDREN SPEAK UP
On the eve of World Children's Day in 2019, the Jamaican Parliament held a special session on violence against children. During this session, children addressed the Parliament for the first time in Jamaica history — and the issue they chose to speak about was violence. Children like 7-year-old Ngozi, pictured above and to the right, called for urgent action to protect children.
The session was organised by UNICEF Jamaica, the Office of the Children's Advocate, and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information. It called for urgent action by the government to implement the National Plan of Action for an Integrated Response to Children and Violence 2018-2023, which had been tabled earlier in 2019.
During that session, Prime Minister Andrew Holness launched the national action plan, and the government continues to work with non-governmental organisations, UN agencies, and others to implement it.