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Antigua and Barbuda - Initial reports of States parties due in 1995: Addendum [2003] UNCRCSPR 34; CRC/C/28/Add.22 (9 December 2003)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/28/Add.22 9 December 2003
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE
CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE
44 OF THE CONVENTION
Initial reports of States parties due in 1995
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
[4
February 2003]
GE.03-45726 (E) 180204
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1 - 7 7
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION 8 - 26 8
A. Measures taken to implement the Convention’s
provisions
(art. 4) 8 - 14 8
1. Measures taken to harmonize national laws and
policies with
provisions of the Convention 8 - 10 8
2. National or local mechanisms for coordinating policies
and for
monitoring the Convention 11 - 14 9
B. Measures to promote public awareness of the
Convention (art. 42)
15 - 19 10
C. Measures to publicly circulate the report
(art. 44, para. 6) 20
- 24 10
D. Concluding comments 25 - 26 11
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (art. 1) 27 - 43 12
A. Definition of the child under the law 27 12
B. Age of majority 28 - 29 12
C. Age of criminal and civil liability 30 12
D. Juveniles 31 12
E. Compulsory school age 32 12
F. Age of employment - part-time and full-time 33 12
G. Age for child maintenance 34 13
H. Maximum age for adoption 35 13
I. Age of sexual consent 36 - 37 13
J. Age of marriage 38 13
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
K. Age under the Domestic Violence Act 39 13
L. Age for some purposes of citizenship 40 13
M. Concluding comments 41 - 43 13
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 44 - 63 14
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2) 44 - 45 14
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3) 46 - 49 14
C. Right to life, survival and development (art. 6) 50 - 56 15
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12) 57 - 61 16
E. Concluding comments 62 - 63 17
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 64 - 95 18
A. Name and nationality (arts. 7 and 8) 64 - 68 18
B. Freedom of expression (art. 13) 69 - 72 18
C. Access to appropriate information (art. 17) 73 - 77 19
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art. 14) 78 - 80 20
E. Freedom of association and of peaceful assembly (art. 15) 81 -
82 20
F. Protection of privacy (art. 16) 83 - 84 20
G. Protection from inhuman treatment, torture or
degrading
punishment (art. 37 (a)) 85 - 92 21
H. Concluding comments 93 - 95 22
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE 96 - 156 23
A. Parental guidance and responsibilities (arts. 5 and 18) 96 -
100 23
B. Separation from parents (art. 9) 101 - 103 23
C. Family reunification (art. 10) 104 24
D. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para. 4) 105 -
112 24
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
E. Children deprived of a family environment (art. 20) 113 - 127 25
F. Adoption (art. 21) 128 - 141 27
G. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11) 142 - 143 29
H. Abuse and neglect (art. 19) 144 - 149 29
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25) 150 30
J. Concluding comments 151 - 156 31
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 157 - 214 31
A. Right to life, survival and development (art. 6) 157 - 159 31
B. Disabled children (art. 23) 160 - 174 33
C. Health and health services (art. 24) 175 - 192 35
1. Legislative provisions for health and health services 175 35
2. Primary health care/maternal and child health 176 - 184 36
3. Nutrition 185 - 186 37
4. Diarrhoeal disorders and malnutrition 187 - 190 37
5. Family planning 191 - 192 38
D. Social security and childcare services and facilities
(arts. 26
and 18, para. 3) 193 - 207 38
E. Concluding comments 208 - 214 40
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 215 - 276 41
A. Education, including vocational training and
guidance (art. 28)
215 - 226 41
1. Legislation 215 - 224 41
2. Administration and management of education 225 - 226 43
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
B. The philosophy and aims of education (art. 29) 227 - 229 43
C. Institutional infrastructure 230 - 249 44
1. Pre-schools 230 - 234 44
2. Primary schools 235 - 238 45
3. Post-primary or all-age schools 239 45
4. Secondary schools 240 - 242 45
5. Tertiary level institutions 243 - 249 46
D. Technical and vocational education and training 250 - 260 47
E. Guidance and counselling programmes 261 - 264 49
F. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities (art. 31) 265 - 271 49
G. Concluding comments 272 - 276 50
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES 277 - 304 51
A. Children in emergency situations (arts. 22, 38 and 39) 277 -
280 51
B. Children in conflict with the law (arts. 37, 39 and 40) 281 -
289 52
C. Children deprived of their liberty, including any form
of
detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial
settings (art.
37, paras. (b), (c) and (d)) 290 - 293 53
D. The sentencing of juveniles (art. 37 (a)) 294 54
E. Physical and psychological recovery and social
integration (art.
39) 295 - 301 54
F. Concluding comments 302 - 304 55
IX. CHILDREN IN SITUATIONS OF EXPLOITATION 305 - 330 56
A. Economic exploitation (art. 32) 305 - 310 56
B. Drug abuse (art. 33) 311 - 321 57
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
C. Sexual exploitation (art. 34) 323 58
D. Sale, trafficking and abduction (art. 35) 324 59
E. Other forms of exploitation (art. 36) 325 59
F. Concluding comments 326 - 331 59
X. CHILDREN OF MINORITY OR INDIGENOUS GROUPS 332 - 339 60
XI. CONCLUDING COMMENTS AND REFORM
PRIORITIES 340 - 352 61
Annexes[*]
I. Bibliography
II. Laws and Acts referred to in the present report (short titles)
Introduction
- Antigua
and Barbuda signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereafter referred
to as “the Convention”) in 1993.
This initial report has been
written to fulfil the mandate to indicate as far as possible the degree to which
the nation has complied
with the principles and provisions of the Convention.
It covers the reporting period beginning in 1995 up to the preparation of
this report in August 2001.
- Antigua
and Barbuda attained full independence on 1 November 1981. It is clear from our
Constitution promulgated at that time that the Government and people of Antigua
and Barbuda have given a high priority to the welfare of the nation’s
children. The Constitution declares in chapter VIII that, for purposes of
citizenship, the term “child” “includes a child born out of
wedlock
and not legitimated”. The authors of our Constitution knew from
our nation’s history that children born out of wedlock tended to be
discriminated against both socially and legally.
They, therefore, took the
laudable step to enshrine in our Constitution the basic right of the child to be
legally protected against any discrimination that could result from the
circumstances of his or
her birth.
- The
Status of Children Act of 1987 complements this principle enshrined in the
Constitution and ensures that all children have equal status in law. The main
aim of this Act, as highlighted in its preamble, is “to remove
the legal
disabilities of children born out of wedlock”. Section 3 (a) of the Act
states succinctly, “the status and the rights, privileges and obligations
of a child born out of wedlock are
identical in all respects to those of a child
born in wedlock”.
- Antigua
and Barbuda is a small nation of two islands. The larger island of Antigua has
a land area of 280 square kilometres and Barbuda
that of 160 square
kilometres. According to the census of 1991, the enumerated resident
population of the two islands combined was
60,840: 29,638 males
and 31,202 females. The preliminary census report on the recent census held in
May 2001 puts the enumerated,
resident population of the nation at 70,737. Of
the current population, 33,643 persons are male and 37,094 are female. The data
pertaining to the enumerated, resident populations of 1991 and 2001 show that
there has been an increase of approximately 15.2 per
cent in population size
during the intercensal period.
- Table
1 below shows the estimated population, by age group and sex, for the census
year 1991.
Table 1
The estimated population of Antigua and Barbuda,
1991
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
Percentage
|
0-4
|
3 080
|
3 072
|
6 152
|
10.36
|
5-9
|
3 035
|
3 084
|
6 119
|
10.31
|
10-14
|
2 926
|
2 880
|
5 806
|
9.78
|
15-19
|
2 635
|
2 628
|
5 263
|
8.87
|
Table 1 (continued)
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
Percentage
|
20-24
|
2 798
|
2 904
|
5 702
|
9.61
|
25-29
|
2 620
|
2 899
|
5 519
|
9.30
|
30-34
|
2 354
|
2 625
|
4 979
|
8.39
|
35+
|
9 164
|
10 651
|
19 815
|
33.38
|
Total
|
28 612
|
30 743
|
59 355*
|
100.00
|
Source: 1991 Census, Government of Antigua and Barbuda, Department
of Statistics.
* The enumerated population for which age and sex distribution data are
available.
- The
statistics presented above indicate that in 1991, Antigua and Barbuda had a
relatively young population. The 1991 census figures
(the most recent
available) recorded 18,077 children as being under the age of 15 years. It can
be deduced, then, that the age group
0-14 years constituted 30.45 per cent of
the population. Of significance also is the fact that young people under the
age of 24
years accounted for 48.93 per cent of the population.
- The
trend of a relatively young population continues for the nation, as indeed for
the Caribbean Region as a whole. The Government
is fully cognizant of this
population trend and is determined to provide adequately for its youthful,
dependent population. It is
committed to ensuring that the children of the
nation, from the time of their birth, have every opportunity to fulfil their
full
potential - economically, politically, socially, culturally and
spiritually.
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
A. Measures taken to implement the Convention’s
provisions (art. 4)
1. Measures to harmonize national laws and policies
with the provisions of the Convention
- In
1992, under the auspices of the UWI/USAID Justice Improvement Project, a
prominent female attorney-at-law conducted research to
ascertain to what extent
the existing local laws in Antigua and Barbuda complied with the requirements of
the Convention. The study,
which was prepared for the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is entitled “Implementation and Promotion
of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child - A Comparison of the Laws of
Antigua and Barbuda with the UN Convention” (Murdoch, 1992).
Through a
rigorous analysis, the study compares the articles of the Convention with
provisions in the local laws that address the
issues raised in the Convention.
The author also points out areas in the local laws that are deficient in
protecting the rights
of the child.
- Copies
of the Convention, together with the 1992 study by Murdoch, were widely
circulated to the relevant government ministries, departments
and agencies as
well as to NGOs. The Government recognized then that it needed to bring several
of its laws in line with the
- requirements
of the Convention. With this in mind, over the years a number of existing laws
have been revised and updated and new
ones brought into being that offer further
protection to children.
- Three
notable legal measures that have been taken to implement the provisions of the
Convention are:
(a) The Sexual Offences Act of 1995. This is new
legislation that addresses, among others, the issue of incest - an issue that
was
neglected in earlier laws. The law now offers children adequate protection
against incestuous relationships. This Act will be discussed
in more detail
later on in the present report;
(b) The Domestic Violence (Summary Proceedings) Act of 1999. Women’s
organizations, led by the Directorate of Gender Affairs,
campaigned long and
hard to get domestic violence recognized as a serious and legitimate concern,
worthy of legislation to deal with
the perpetrators. This Act constitutes a
landmark legislation in protecting the rights of both children and women - the
main victims
of domestic violence. The Act protects not only the biological
children of householders, but also any child who resides in a household
on a
regular basis or a child of whom either the man or the woman is guardian;
(c) The Magistrates Code of Procedure (Amendment) Act of 1993. This latest
revision of the laws governing the maintenance of children
has sought to
increase the minimum amount of money paid as child maintenance by delinquent
fathers. It also introduced a “means
test” whereby the court has
discretionary powers to order fathers to pay more than the minimum in child
support according to
their level of income.
2. National or local mechanisms for coordinating policies
and for monitoring the Convention
- In
its planning and allocation of resources, the Government is aware of the
importance of focusing on the youth and children of the
nation. There is
currently in existence a Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports, Carnival,
Culture and Community Development that
oversees all aspects of the development
of the youth of the nation.
- In
2000, the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda mandated the Ministry of Planning,
Implementation and Public Service Affairs to produce
a four-year development
plan for the nation. A broad-based, consultative committee was inaugurated
which formulated a National Strategic
Development Plan for the period 2001-2004.
One of the key areas of concern recognized by the planners was the need
“to create
a single comprehensive policy, designed to promote youth access
to the competencies and character development required to be fully
prepared
adults, effective citizens and well-equipped leaders”.
- The
Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports, Carnival, Culture and Community
Development has indeed produced a draft National Youth
Policy that is currently
being reviewed for enactment into law.
- Ten
critical issues were identified as the initial components of a National Youth
Policy. All 10 issues relate directly to the need
to recognize and implement
the rights of children and youth. These national guidelines for youth
empowerment closely resemble the
provisions of the Convention in many respects
and will be mentioned from time to time throughout the present report.
B. Measures to promote public awareness of the
Convention
(art. 42)
- The
Murdoch study mentioned above formed the basis of the work of an informal
committee that started meeting in 1993 to study the
provisions of the Convention
and to formulate strategies for its implementation.
- The
committee agreed that parents constitute a critical interest group that most
certainly would be concerned with the rights of the
child. The committee
focused on a group of parents whose children were involved in the Christian
Children’s Fund (CCF) - an
international agency that offers financial
support for needy families as well as practical programmes for poverty
alleviation among
the poorest sections of the society. CCF is no longer
operating in the nation today, but it was very active for several years in
the
promotion of the rights of the child.
- In
1993, CCF held several workshops with members of the families that were a part
of its aid programme. These workshops discussed
the articles of the Convention
and showed families how, at the personal, individual level, they could act
always in the best interests
of the child. Local practices such as the
widespread use of corporal punishment were held up to scrutiny. Positive
measures to
curb this practice were presented, together with suggestions of
alternative forms of discipline.
- A
local Committee on the Rights of the Child was formally inaugurated in 2000 to
monitor the implementation of the Convention and
to further promote and enhance
awareness thereof. This Committee is determined to further the work of the
earlier committee that
had conducted several workshops for parents, mainly under
the auspices of CCF. This local committee has a further mandate to assist
in
the preparation of the initial report of Antigua and Barbuda to the Committee on
the Rights of the Child and to circulate the
report to as wide an audience as
possible.
- The
local committee comes under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Social
Improvement and is comprised of members drawn from
a wide cross-section of
agencies and organizations - both governmental and non-governmental. The
membership includes health workers,
social workers, economic planners and
representatives of associations for the disabled, the teaching profession, the
legal profession,
the police, the churches and several other NGOs that are
concerned with the status and welfare of children.
C. Measures to publicly circulate the report (art. 44, para.
6)
- The
local committee on the Rights of the Child is fully committed to publicizing the
report to all sectors of the society. On completion
of the report, as a first
step, the draft was circulated in October 2001 and discussed at a consultative
forum of all the stakeholders,
- particularly
young people and the members of the organizations and agencies represented on
the committee. Their comments and input,
which were vital to the accuracy of
the report and its successful implementation, have been taken into consideration
in the final
version of the report.
- The
Government, through the local committee, has further plans to circulate the
final report. Copies of the report will also be placed
in the Public Library
and other libraries such as the University Centre Library. The committee also
plans to insert an advertisement
in the local papers notifying persons of the
publication of the report and its availability in libraries.
- As
a second step, the local committee has put together a programme of a week of
activities to celebrate children and to focus on their
rights. Places of faith
(which are mainly churches in Antigua and Barbuda) will be asked to start off
the week of activities by
setting aside some time in their weekly programmes to
zero in on issues affecting children. The highlight of the week will be a
second public forum - a multisectoral consultative workshop involving all the
relevant governmental agencies and NGOs that are concerned
with the welfare of
children. Children, themselves drawn from various schools and youth
organizations, will be a critical part of
the review process. They will be
invited to participate fully in the workshop on an equal footing with
adults.
- The
main aim of such a workshop is, first, to examine to what extent the nation of
Antigua and Barbuda has complied with the provisions
of the Convention as set
out in the report. An equally important secondary aim is to put forward
strategies for the implementation
of those that are not yet in place. It will
be made clear to all the participants that they can make additional copies of
the report
for further circulation, if they so wish. There is evidence that
the format of a workshop (or seminar) that brings together participants from
many disparate groups all with a common focus - has
great validity. Such a
forum was highly successful in publicizing the Beijing Report that was prepared
for the Fourth World Conference
on Women, held in Beijing in 1995.
- The
local Committee sees the media as being crucial to the widespread dissemination
of information contained in the report. Panel
discussions on the local
television stations and popular radio programmes are envisioned to take place.
Again, the committee is
aware that the radio and television audiences appreciate
such programmes. They tend to attract large audiences all across the nation
and
in the neighbouring islands in the Eastern Caribbean.
D. Concluding comments
- The
Government has already taken steps to bring local laws and policies in
compliance with the requirements of the Convention. There
is need, however, for
sustained effort to bring about full compliance. It is clear that some groups
and individuals in the society
have some knowledge of the rights of the child
that are enshrined in the Convention. However, a more systematic initiative
must
be undertaken to ensure that the majority of persons (if not all persons)
in Antigua and Barbuda know of the Convention and the Government’s
role in
implementing its provisions.
- The
work of the local Committee on the Rights of the Child, as outlined above, is
crucial in further enhancing public awareness of
the Convention on the Rights of
the Child.
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (art. 1)
A. Definition of the child under the law
- There
is no single, uniform definition of the child that holds true for all
circumstances. Under the Status of Children Act of 1987 which deals with a wide
range of issues affecting children, the term “child” includes a
person who has attained
the age of 16 years. However, for a number of different
purposes, activities and responsibilities, the law uses various terms such
as
“child”, “infant”, “minor”,
“juvenile” and “young person” to define
persons below
the age of 18 years. The most salient of these definitions are
discussed below.
B. Age of majority
- The
Age of Majority Act of 1984 states that for purposes of the law in question and
unless otherwise stated in this particular law, the age of attainment
of
majority is 18 years. This Act does not use the term “child”, but
speaks of “infants” and “minors”
as persons being under
the age of 18 years.
- The
age of majority is the age when a person has the right to vote. It is also the
legal age for obtaining a driver’s licence.
However, a permit to learn to
drive, accompanied always by an adult driver, may be obtained at age
16.
C. Age of criminal and civil liability
- Under
the Magistrates Code of Procedure, Cap. 255, a “child” for the
purpose of criminal liability means a person, who,
in the opinion of the
magistrate before whom he is brought, is under the age of 14 years and of
sufficient age and capacity to commit
a crime. For the purposes of quasi
criminal and civil liability, a “child” means a person under the
apparent age of
16 years. In addition, by an amendment to this Act, No. 17 of
1973, a “young person”, for the purpose of criminal liability,
means
a person who, in the opinion of the magistrate before whom he is brought, is
between 14 and 16 years of age.
D. Juveniles
- The
Juvenile Act, Cap. 42, of 1951 defines a “juvenile” as any person
under the age
of 16 years. The Act also states that a person under the
age of 8 years cannot commit a crime.
E. Compulsory school age
- The
Education Act of 1973 stipulates that all children between the ages of 5 and 16
years are to stay in school. Thus, the compulsory school age is
16 years.
F. Age of employment: part-time and full-time
- Under
the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code of 1975, a “child” is defined as
a person under 14 years. Division E of the
law provides that no child can be
employed in a public or private industrial undertaking, or on any ship. A child
can only be employed
in a family venture on a part-time basis, that is, after
school hours. There can be no full-time employment of any person under
16 years
since the compulsory age for remaining in school is 16 years.
G. Age for child maintenance
- The
Maintenance of Children Act, Cap. 49, defines a “child” as a person
under the
age of 16 years. Maintenance that is ordered by the court ceases
when the child attains the age
of 16 years.
H. Maximum age for adoption
- The
Adoption of Children Act, Cap. 343, defines an “infant” as a person
under the age
of 18 years. No one over the age of 18 years can be legally
adopted.
I. Age of sexual consent
- According
to section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act of 1995, no female person under the age
of 14 years can legally give her consent
to an act of sexual intercourse. Thus
the age for the “statutory rape” of a female is 14 years. But
section 6 of the
Act still makes it an offence for a male person to have sexual
intercourse with a female person if she is between 14 and 16 years,
even if she
gave her consent. (In the latter case, the offence carries a lesser penalty
than if she were less than14 years of age.)
Section 7 of the same act similarly
infers that no male child under the age of 16 years can give his consent to
sexual intercourse.
Thus the age of sexual consent for both females and males
is 16 years.
- The
law specifically protects certain categories of minors (persons under the age
of 18 years) from sexual abuse. Those who are adopted, stepchildren, foster
children, wards and also those who are employed are mentioned
in particular.
Any adult who has sexual intercourse with any of these minors is guilty of an
offence whether the minor consented
or not. The exceptions to these provisions
are persons who are spouses.
J. Age of marriage
- The
Marriage Act, Cap. 347, places a restriction on marriage in cases of
“minority”. The Act defines a “minor”
as a person under
the age of 18 years. In cases where a minor wishes to be married, the consent
of a parent must be given.
K. Age under the Domestic Violence Act
- Under
the Domestic Violence (Summary Proceedings) Act of 1999, a “child”
is defined as any person under the age of 18
years.
L. Age for some purposes of citizenship
- The
Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship Act of 1982 defines a “minor” as a
person under the age of 18 years.
M. Concluding comments
- It
can be seen from the foregoing that the definition of the child has to be taken
in context. However, despite the various definitions
that exist in the local
law for persons under
the age of 18 years, it is clear that for the purposes
of his own criminal liability, a child is a person 14 years or over. For the
purpose of his own civil responsibility, the law recognizes the status of a
young person who is between 14 and 16 years. However,
in several instances, the
law makes no specific mention of how to treat persons who fall within the
age range of 16
to18 years. In practice, unless otherwise indicated, such
persons are regarded as having full responsibility for their actions whether
in
criminal or civil matters.
- When
a child who is an offender comes before a magistrate or juvenile court, he is
treated as a “juvenile”. It will be
remembered that a juvenile is
defined as a person under the age
of 16 years. Special provisions are
set up to deal with such persons who are afforded some measure of protection
because of their
age. (Some of these provisions will be dealt with later on in
section VIII below.)
- For
purposes of the prevention of cruelty to children and in those circumstances
where they need care and protection, the relevant
age for defining a child is
under 16 years of age. It will be noted that these are situations where
some other person has responsibility
towards the child. But, for purposes of
adoption, marriage or citizenship, the law uses the terms “infant”
or “minor”
to refer to persons under the age of 18 years.
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2)
- Chapter
II of the Constitution sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms of
individuals. These are covered in sections 3-21 of the Constitution. The
Constitution
protects all persons from being treated in a discriminatory
manner. In chapter II, section 14, “discriminatory” means
“affording different treatment to different persons attributable wholly or
mainly to their
respective descriptions by race, place of origin, political
opinions or affiliations, colour, creed or sex ...”.
- Children
are not mentioned specifically, but as citizens or persons living in the State,
they are entitled to the same fundamental
rights and freedoms as anyone
else.
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3)
- Provisions
relating to the best interests of the child occur in several statutes and laws.
Of particular importance are the laws
that relate to the best interests of the
child in situations where the child’s life, liberty or happiness may be
jeopardized.
Some examples of the relevant laws are presented below.
- The
Adoption of Children Act, Cap. 343, section 4, provides that “the court
before making an adoption order shall be satisfied that the order if made will
be for the welfare
of the infant, due consideration being given for this purpose
to the wishes of the infant having regard for the age and understanding
of the
infant”. (It will be remembered that an infant in this Act is defined as
any person under the age of 18 years.)
- The
Guardianship of Infants Act, Cap. 345, section 3, states that “where in
any proceedings before any court the custody or upbringing of an infant or the
administration of any property belonging to the infant is in question, the court
in dealing with the question shall regard
- the
welfare of the infant as the first and paramount consideration”. The Act
does not define “infant”, but for
purposes of guardianship matters,
an “infant”, according to the Age of Majority Act of 1984, is a
person under 18 years of age.
- The
Juvenile Act, Cap. 42, section 4, under the heading “General Consideration
for Guidance of the Court” states that
“every court in dealing with
a juvenile who is brought before it as being in need of care or protection or as
an offender or
otherwise shall have regard to the welfare of the juvenile and
shall, if it deems it necessary, take steps for removing the juvenile
from
undesirable surroundings”.
C. Right to life, survival and development (art. 6)
- One
of the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in chapter II of the
Constitution is the right to “life, liberty, security of the person, the
enjoyment of property and the protection of the law”. The
Constitution
also provides in section IV that “no person shall be deprived of his life
intentionally save in execution of the sentence of
a court in respect of a crime
of treason, murder, of which he has been convicted”.
- Under
section 50 of the Interpretation Act of 1982, “persons” are defined
as legal or natural persons. Children are covered by this definition and are
thus guaranteed
this (and other rights) under the Constitution.
- The
Offences Against the Person Act, Cap. 58, deals with the penalties imposed when
the life of any child is wilfully taken. This
Act refers to offences against
the life of a child such as infanticide, child concealment and child
destruction. Thus it can be
argued that this law recognizes the inherent right
of the child to life.
- Children
not only have a fundamental right to survive, but they also have a right to
develop their full potential. Of crucial importance
in this regard is their
right to a healthy life in a healthy environment where they can learn and grow.
The Government of Antigua
and Barbuda has made provisions to ensure that
children survive and develop as fully as possible. The Government spends the
greatest
proportion of its budget on health and education, two areas of life
that are crucial to the development of the whole child. The
only area of
allocation of resources that, over the years, has exceeded both health and
education is the repayment of the public
debt which takes on average 18-20 per
cent of government expenditure every year.
Table 2
Government expenditures on health and education for
selected years
and estimates for 2001 (in millions of EC dollars)
|
1993
|
%
|
1995
|
%
|
2000
|
%
|
2001
|
%
|
Ministry of Education
|
39.6 m
|
14.5
|
40.2 m
|
12.5
|
53.3 m
|
9.9
|
59.8 m
|
11.69
|
Ministry of Health
|
37.1 m
|
13.5
|
44.1 m
|
13.7
|
64.4 m
|
12.0
|
67.0 m
|
13.09
|
Total expenditure
|
274.3 m
|
100.0
|
322.5 m
|
100.0
|
536.5 m
|
100.0
|
511.8 m
|
100.0
|
Source: Antigua and Barbuda Estimates of Recurrent Revenue and
Expenditure.
- From
the statistics presented in the table above, it can be seen that up to 1995 the
Government of Antigua and Barbuda spent at least
25 per cent of its budget on
health and education the two basic social sectors. It will be observed that
the table shows a percentage
decrease in total government expenditure in the
education sector from 14.47 per cent in 1993 to 12.47 per cent in 1995 to
only 9.9
per cent in 2000. This decrease can be partially accounted for by the
fact that the Government passed the Board of Education Act in 1994, by which the
Board of Education has the authority to collect an education levy from working
persons. The sums of money
thus accruing to the Board are used in the education
sector, together with the usual budgetary allocations.
- According
to statistics presented by Fabio Sabatini in a paper entitled “National
Budgets and the Rights of the Child”,
in the period 1991-1994, the
Government of Antigua and Barbuda had a social allocation ratio of 37.2 per cent
of its total expenditure
(Sabatini, 1995). It must be noted that, despite the
high level of participation of the Government in the economy of the nation,
this
allocation to basic social services fell short of the 40 per cent social
allocation ratio, recommended by UNICEF.
- Details
on the health and education status of the nation’s children are discussed
in subsequent sections.
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)
- There
are no local laws that address this issue directly. Under the Constitution of
Antigua and Barbuda, every person has the fundamental right to freedom of
expression as well as freedom of thought, conscience
and religion. Children, as
citizens of the State, are obviously intended to enjoy these fundamental
freedoms. However, as will
be discussed later in the section on freedom of
expression, there are local initiatives that seek to give children an
opportunity
to express their views without prejudice.
- The
right of the child “to be heard in any judicial and administrative
proceedings affecting the child”, as stated in
article 12 of the
Convention, is duly regarded and is clearly respected in the provisions of the
Adoption of Children Act, Cap. 343, section 4 (b). As was mentioned earlier on,
according to this Act, the court, before making an adoption order, shall be
satisfied that the
wishes of the infant (a person under the age of 18 years) are
taken into account, having regard to the infant’s age and understanding.
- Section
15 of the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda gives every person the right to a
“fair hearing” when charged with a criminal offence. This right
applies to children as well as adults. Persons so charged are also entitled, if
they so wish, to defend themselves before the court
or to use the services of a
legal practitioner of their choice. However, if the case before the court is an
administrative matter
and not a judicial one, the law does not speak
specifically of the issue of the child’s right to be heard, except such a
right
is subsumed under the “audi alteram partem” rule.
(“Let the other side be heard” rule.)
- It
must be noted here as well that the issue of respect for the views of the child
is coming increasingly to the fore in public and
private debate. Several
family-oriented agencies and
- organizations
continue to hold “parenting workshops” where, more and more, the
principle that children have rights is
aired and discussed. Four such
organizations that over the past 10 years or so have been conducting
seminars and workshops for parents
and their children are:
- − The
Christian Children Fund (CCF) an NGO;
- − The
Directorate of Gender Affairs a government agency;
- − The
Family and Guidance Centre of the Collaborative Committee for the Promotion of
Emotional Health in Children (CCOPE) an
NGO;
- − The
Health Education Unit of the Ministry of Health and Social
Improvement.
- More
will be said about the aims and objectives of CCOPE later on. However, the
excellent work of the Health Education Unit in educating
both parents and
children on their mutual rights and obligations must be documented. With funds
from a special PAHO project, the
Health Education Unit established a number of
very active, very focused, peer counselling groups in the early to mid-1990s
which
met regularly after school hours to discuss issues that the teenage
members themselves were interested in. Although trained counsellors
were there
to guide them, the teenagers generally set their own agendas and were encouraged
to speak freely. The parents of the
teenagers also came together in regular
sessions, sometimes with their children and sometimes by themselves. The
programme of peer
counselling has since come to an end, but parenting workshops
still continue.
E. Concluding comments
- The
right of the child to be heard is clearly a fundamental right that is guaranteed
in the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda. Whether or not the views of
children are respected is often deeply embedded in cultural norms that set the
standards for what is considered appropriate behaviour for children. Clearly,
children in Antigua and Barbuda are given opportunities
to air their views.
However, it would be remiss not to mention here that culturally, in the
Caribbean, children (in this context,
school-age children) do not generally feel
free to air their opinions on many subjects in front of adults except when
called upon
specifically to do so. But as discussed above, there is a growing
awareness among our people that children should be given more
opportunities to
speak out on all issues.
- The
growth in pre-school education has caused a concomitant increase in the exposure
of young children to influences other than those
of their immediate families.
In most instances this has been a healthy development. It has meant more
freedom for very young children
to express themselves and to meet other children
children who may be quite different from them. The social interactions thus
engendered
outside a family setting tend to encourage growth and tolerance in
young minds. The Government is pleased at the marked increase
in early
childhood education and has taken positive steps to monitor and regulate all
aspects of the operation of the nation’s
pre-schools.
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Name and nationality (arts. 7 and 8)
- The
laws of Antigua and Barbuda are in keeping with articles 7 and 8 of the
Convention. Chapter VIII of the Constitution defends the basic right of all
citizens of Antigua and Barbuda to a name and nationality. Provisions for these
are also made in
the laws pertaining to the registration of births and deaths.
Such general principles apply automatically to children.
- Section
17 of the Births and Deaths (Registration) Act, Cap. 344, requires notice of the
birth of a child to be given within 30 days
of the birth. However, according to
section 23, it is still within the law to register a birth up to six months
after the child
is born. Section 30 allows registration after six months only
with the written authority of the registrar. Where a newborn child
is found,
the notice must be given within seven days.
- Today,
most of the births in the nation occur in hospitals; therefore these
establishments generally take the responsibility of registering
such births. At
the General Register Office, the following particulars about the child must be
stipulated: the date of birth,
the sex, the name or proposed baptismal name
and the name of the mother and father if the child is legitimate.
- A
child’s surname establishes his or her identity to one or both parents.
Up until the passing of the Status of Children Act, in 1987, if the parents of a
child were not married, the child’s right to a surname was restricted to
using that of his or
her mother. Now, under this Act, with his or her
father’s consent upon application of his or her mother, a child born out
of wedlock is entitled to have his or her father’s name registered on the
occasion of his or her birth. As a consequence,
if the parties so desire, such
a child can now carry his or her father’s name. On adoption, a child
usually assumes the surname
of the adoptive parent(s).
- The
Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda provides that a person shall not be deprived
of his or her nationality except in certain prescribed situations.
The
Constitution also guarantees the right of citizenship of all children born in
Antigua and Barbuda. This right holds true for the children of
immigrants as
well. The right to citizenship is also guaranteed to persons born outside the
State under certain circumstances.
According to chapter VIII, section 112, a
person has the right to become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda “if either
of his parents or any one of his grandparents
was born therein or was registered
or naturalized while resident in Antigua”.
B. Freedom of expression (art. 13)
- The
right of the child to freedom of expression as required by the Convention is
guaranteed for all in the Constitution. The issue of freedom of expression is
not addressed specifically with respect to children, but as citizens, they are
entitled to
such rights. Chapter II, section 12, states that “except with
his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of
expression”.
It continues thus: “For the purposes of this section,
the said freedom includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference,
freedom to disseminate information and ideas without interference (whether the
dissemination be to the public generally or to any
person or class of persons)
and freedom from interference with his
- correspondence
or other means of communication. For the purposes of this section expression
may be oral or written or by codes, signals,
signs or symbols and include
recordings, broadcasts (whether on radio or television), printed publications,
photographs (whether
still or moving), drawings, carvings and sculptures or any
other means of artistic expression.”
- There
is no known instance in Antigua and Barbuda of a child having been legally
deprived of his or her right to freedom of expression.
- In
1993, the Government founded an organization called “The Alliance For
Social WellBeing” with a focus on youth. (The
objectives of this
organization will be discussed
more fully later on in the section on
education - section VII-C.) Among other activities, the Alliance holds an
annual “Youth
Symposium”, which seeks to provide a forum for
children and youth to share information and exchange views. They express
themselves
publicly on current affairs and issues such as HIV/AIDS, drug
awareness, cultural consciousness and civic pride. Delegates - ranging
in age
from 11 to 18 years - are invited from all the major primary and secondary
schools in the country for two days of discussions
and deliberations. Delegates
to the symposium generally number about 250. Adult facilitators introduce the
topics, but the children
themselves lead the group discussions and make
presentations at plenary sessions.
- The
draft National Youth Policy also has as one of its key areas of concern the
issue of youth participation in decision-making.
C. Access to appropriate information (art. 17)
- There
is no local legislation that directly addresses the issue of the function of the
mass media in providing information or access
to information for children. As
discussed above, the Constitution guarantees the freedom of expression for every
individual. This, quite rightly, applies to all children.
- From
time to time, there are local television and radio broadcasts that are aimed
specifically at children. The local newspapers
sometimes carry pages that are
designed specially for children.
- Most
television programming is imported from the United States of America via
satellite. Whereas it must be acknowledged that there
are excellent programmes
for children on the major television networks, there is also cause for alarm at
the growing images of violence
and explicit sex that are being shown on cable
television. Some of these images are shown at times when children are likely to
be
viewing. The same comment could be made for the Internet. Access to the
Internet is becoming increasingly available to persons
at all levels of the
society. To date, the Government does not have any formal mechanisms for
censuring either television programmes
or access to material on the Internet.
- The
Ministry of Education monitors all the books that are used in all primary and
secondary schools. The Board of Education (set
up in 1994 through the Board of
Education Act) manages a Textbooks Scheme that provides the majority of
textbooks to be used in all of the public and private schools. The exceptions
are those few, specific texts - usually of a religious nature - that are used in
private church-run schools.
- Apart
from the appropriate, age-specific information that is provided in the curricula
of schools, the Public Library has a children’s
section that stocks both
fiction and non-fiction books for children. Access to the Public Library is
free and available to all.
Most of the nation’s schools also have school
libraries with age-specific books to which the children have access.
D. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art.
14)
- The
laws of the nation are consistent with this right of the Convention. The
Constitution states in chapter II, section 11, that: “Except with his own
consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of
conscience, and for the
purposes of this section the said freedom includes
freedom of thought and religion, freedom to change his religion or belief, and
freedom, either alone or in community with others, both in public and in
private, to manifest and propagate his religion or belief
in worship, teaching,
practice and observance.”
- Section
11 of chapter II of the Constitution protects the rights of persons under the
age of 18 years who are attending a place of education not to be
required to receive any
“religious instruction or to take part in or
attend any religious ceremony or observance if that instruction, ceremony or
observance
relates to a religion other than his own”. In order for him to
do so, the consent of his parent or guardian has to be given.
- About
five years ago, there was some controversy in the educational system as to
whether or not the children of the Rastafarian faith
had to cut off their locks
if they wanted to attend government schools. This issue was resolved very
quickly in favour of the constitutional
right of Rastafari children to attend
school wearing their hair in locks according to their religious beliefs. Today,
many Rastafari
children attend both public and private schools wearing their
hair in locks and no one has the right to pressure them to cut off
their
locks.
E. Freedom of association and of peaceful assembly (art.
15)
- This
right is guaranteed under the Constitution for all, including children. Chapter
II, section 13, states that “except with his own consent, no person shall
be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of peaceful assembly
and
association, that is to say, his right peacefully to assemble freely and
associate with other persons and in particular to form
or belong to trade unions
or other associations for the promotion and protection of his
interests”.
- Children
and youth in the nation are free to organize clubs, associations and any type of
assembly without any interference from the
law. Indeed, there are numerous
youth organizations that operate out of schools, churches and NGOs that address
the concerns of
children and youth specifically.
F. Protection of privacy (art. 16)
- The
Constitution acknowledges the right to privacy of individuals. Chapter II,
section 3, states that a person has “protection for his family life, his
personal privacy, the privacy of his home and other property
and from
deprivation of property without fair compensation”. This section of the
Constitution is consistent with the Convention in protecting a child’s
family life as
- well
as his or her personal privacy and home. However, the Constitution does not
expressly protect the child’s right to privacy of his or her
correspondence, but the Post Office Offences Act, Cap.
60, gives some degree of
protection. The Act makes it an offence to detain or wilfully secrete letters
from an addressee, or open
or cause to be opened a letter which ought to be
delivered to another addressee or a child addressee.
- Section
10 of the Act also makes it an offence for any other person who is not a post
office employee to open or interfere with or
withhold the correspondence of a
person to whom a letter is addressed. However, the Act provides for certain
exceptions relating
to parents or guardians of addressees. Parents or guardians
are not criminally liable if they tamper with the correspondence of
their
children or children in their care. Thus, the local law falls short of the
Convention requirements that place no limitations
on the protection of the
child’s right to noninterference with his or her correspondence.
G. Protection from inhuman treatment, torture or
degrading
punishment (art. 37, para. (a))
- Chapter
II, section 6, of the Constitution protects persons from being held in slavery
or servitude and from forced labour. Section 7 continues further to address the
other issues in article 37 thus:
No person shall be subjected to
torture or to inhuman or degrading punishment or other such treatment (sect.
7 (1));
Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to
be inconsistent with or in contravention of this section
to the extent that
the law in question authorizes the infliction of any punishment that was lawful
in Antigua on 31 October 1981
(sect. 7 (2)).
- This
section of the Constitution applies to the child who is subsumed under the
definition of person.
- There
are existing laws in Antigua and Barbuda that today, by some international
standards, may be considered as authorizing forms
of cruel and degrading
punishment or torture. It is pertinent to state here that the death sentence is
still enforced in Antigua
and Barbuda for two criminal offences - murder and
treason. Section 3 of the Offences Against the Person Act, Cap. 58, states that
“whosoever is convicted of murder shall suffer death as a felon”.
However, no person under the age of 18 years can be sentenced to death for
any crime. The Act provides that the “sentence
of death shall not be
pronounced on or recorded against a person convicted of an offence if it appears
to the Court that at the time
when the offence was committed he was under the
age of 18 years”.
- But
a child under 18 years of age can be sent to prison for murder. Since the law
does not stipulate for how long, it can be inferred
that it is possible for a
sentence of life imprisonment to be imposed on someone who is under 18years of
age.
- The
Treason Act, No. 17 of 1984, makes no mention of the age in reference to capital
punishment for an act of treason. However, as
discussed above, no one under
18 years of age can be sentenced to death. But the court can impose a life
sentence on any offender
who is convicted of treason.
- Another
local law that may be seen to contravene article 37 of the Convention is the
Corporal Punishment Act, Cap.106, of the Laws
of Antigua and Barbuda. This Act
provides for the whipping of males, but according to section 15, the Act does
not apply to females.
- Section
11 of the Act makes a distinction between whipping and flogging. A person under
the age of 18 years - considered a juvenile
according to the Juvenile Act of
1951 - cannot be flogged. However, a juvenile can be sentenced to a whipping.
Section 8 provides
that the person(s) to be whipped must be examined by a doctor
and pronounced fit enough to endure the punishment. Whipping is carried
out
with a light rod or cane or bunch of tamarind or other flexible twigs (sect.
10). The maximum number of strokes for a juvenile
is 12
(sect. 3 (1)). No flogging or whipping has been carried out for many
years on juveniles or adult males.
- But
corporal punishment is still administered - irrespective of the gender of the
child - in the majority of schools in the country.
The Education Act of 1973
expressly forbids “degrading and injurious punishment” in
administering discipline in schools. However, the
Act allows corporal
punishment to be administered by the head teacher or his or her deputy. An
ordinary teacher can only administer
such punishment in the presence of the
head, under his or her direction. The Act also states that it is preferable for
a female
teacher to carry out corporal punishment on a female child but such
punishment should not be administered in public. Most all-girl
schools have
tended to abolish this practice, but it is still prevalent in all-boy schools
(both public and private) and in the government-run
primary and secondary
schools.
H. Concluding comments
- Children
in Antigua and Barbuda enjoy all of the rights and freedoms that the Convention
requires in the articles under consideration.
But they do not have unlimited
restrictions to their right to privacy of their correspondence.
- With
respect to the issue of “cruel and inhuman punishment”, it is clear
from the local law that no person under the age
of 18 can be sentenced to death
for the offence of murder, but such a person can be sentenced to life
imprisonment. With respect
to the offence of treason, he can also be sentenced
to life imprisonment.
- Unlike
the restrictions that are placed in some countries on the right of the child to
seek medical advice or treatment without parental
consent, the local law is
silent on this issue. There is no law in Antigua and Barbuda which stipulates
that a child has to be accompanied
by a parent when visiting a doctor or seeking
contraceptive information. Thus, if a child needs to see a doctor privately or
wishes
to attend a primary health-care clinic or a family planning clinic, he or
she may do so unaccompanied. It is at the discretion of
the medical
practitioner or health worker to agree to see an unaccompanied child.
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
A. Parental guidance and responsibilities (arts. 5 and
18)
- There
are few local laws that directly address the issue of how parents should guide
their children’s lives or what responsibilities
they have towards their
children. But common law does recognize that parents have a duty to see that
their children receive due
care and attention. (The specific issue of
maintenance of children is dealt with in section D below.)
- There
are a number of old laws in the books, based on British law, that seek to punish
parents who fail to provide for their children.
Under the Small Charges Act,
Cap. 77, section 24, it is an offence for a man or a woman to neglect their
children when they are
able to maintain them. This law applies whether the
children are born in wedlock or out of wedlock. The law addresses the penalties
that a man faces if he does so, but makes no reference to a woman. The
assumption is that it is a man’s duty to take care
of his family. The law
states that if a man refuses to maintain his family he is deemed to be
“idle and disorderly”
and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding one month. And also, if a man deserts or runs away from his wife
and
children he is deemed to be “a rogue and a vagabond” and liable
to be imprisoned for a period of up to three months.
- In
the case where a juvenile is taken into custody, the law makes some provisions
for the upkeep of the child by its parents or guardians.
Section 34 of the
Juvenile Act, Cap. 42, empowers the court to order, where a juvenile is
taken into “the care and custody
of a fit person” that certain
persons have a duty to contribute towards the maintenance of the child. Such
persons are the
father, the stepfather, the adoptive father or any other person,
who at the date of such an order, was cohabiting with the mother,
whether or not
such a person is the father of the child.
- The
Education Act of 1973 does point out, to some extent, parental responsibility
for ensuring that children make use of the free education that is
available.
The Act states that parents have a responsibility to ensure that their children
attend school up to the compulsory age
of 16 years.
- There
are no laws in Antigua and Barbuda that enjoin the State to assist parents or
legal guardians in raising their children. However,
as will be discussed later
in the sections on health and education, the State does take a major
responsibility in providing free
health services and free education to all
children.
B. Separation from parents (art. 9)
- In
local law, the right of the child to live with his or her parent or guardian is
recognized except in situations where the child,
for his or her own safety, has
to be removed by the court. According to section 7 of the Juvenile Act,
Cap. 42, the removal of a
child from his parents or family can take place
only when it is proved that the child is suffering unnecessarily from assault,
ill-treatment
or neglect. Information on such practices is taken on oath from
any person acting in the interest of the juvenile - the latter defined
as a
person under the age of 16 years. Under the rules of natural justice, the
right to be heard is enjoyed by all the interested
parties in such cases.
- Under
the Adoption of Children’s Act, Cap. 343, the consent of all relevant
parties to the adoption has to be obtained. However,
the judge has the
discretionary power to dispense with such consent if there are good and
sufficient reasons for so doing.
- In
cases of separation or adoption, the law makes no provision for the natural
parents to maintain any personal contact with the child,
nor is the court
compelled to provide them with any information as to the whereabouts of the
child. If there are adverse consequences
of State action in the separation of a
child from his or her family environment, there are no provisions protecting
persons who apply
for such information.
C. Family reunification (art. 10)
- There
are no laws in Antigua and Barbuda that address the issue of family
reunification in cases where family members are separated
from each other either
within the State or across national borders.
D. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para.
4)
- There
are excellent statutes and procedures in the laws of Antigua and Barbuda that
deal with the very critical issue of the recovery
of maintenance for children.
These are brought into service very often because a high proportion of
children (41.5 per cent according
to the 1991 census, but 58 per cent
according to an independent study done by Ward-Osborne in the same year)
are raised in households
headed by women, most of whom are single parents.
Culturally, it has been observed that there is a tendency for unmarried fathers
to resist responsibility for raising their children.
- The
Magistrate’s Code of Procedure, chapter 255, gives mothers the right to
bring putative and actual fathers to court for maintenance
of children, and, in
the case of married women, maintenance for themselves. The provisions of the
Magistrate’s Code do not
recognize any custodial rights for unmarried
fathers. The unmarried mother alone is recognized and acknowledged. Thus, in
cases
where unmarried fathers may wish to play a positive role in the upbringing
of their children, they may be prevented from so doing
if the mothers of the
children are hostile to the idea. This is an area of concern that needs to be
addressed in law.
- The
law also makes provision for mothers to apply for maintenance during their
pregnancy. This can help with doctors’ fees,
medical tests and treatment.
- An
anomaly is contained in the law to the effect that if the father has never
supported or given the child anything during the first
12 months of its life,
proceedings cannot be brought against the father. In practice, however, this is
hardly ever an issue. The
putative fathers are summoned to come to court at
least six clear days before the hearing.
- Both
mother and putative father are required to come before the court. The court
will then conduct a means inquiry into the income
and expenditure of both
parties. Once the inquiry is concluded, the court will make an award of
maintenance based on the information
that has been elicited during the means
inquiry.
- Once
a court order is made against a father in favour of a mother of a child, the
father has a legal obligation to the court not the
mother. If, then, the father
fails to pay the maintenance, the Magistrate Court Collecting Officer will issue
a warrant for the
arrest of the offending father, who will be brought before the
court to explain why he has not been paying the maintenance. The
order will
remain in force until the child attains the age of 16 years. It is very
important to note that the recovery process for
the arrears of maintenance is
initiated by the court and not by the mother. The mother has no part in this
process.
- The
court has the option of imprisoning the defendant or giving him time to pay the
arrears of maintenance. If the Magistrate is
satisfied that the father is not
in gainful employment and has made reasonable efforts to gain employment, but
has been unsuccessful,
then the Magistrate can decide not to send the defaulting
father to prison.
- Under
section 121, Cap. 255, married couples can obtain a separation or
non-cohabitation order. (However, the section sets out some
very specific
grounds on which separation can be ordered such as cruelty, adultery and
habitual drunkenness.) With respect to the
welfare of children in such
circumstances, the court has the power to make an award of maintenance against
the husband in favour
of the wife and children as the court sees fit.
E. Children deprived of a family environment (art. 20)
- The
welfare of each child is of paramount importance to the State. There are
several cases of disadvantaged children who fit into
the category of those who
are physically, emotionally or sexually abused or abandoned. Such children may
be temporarily or permanently
deprived of their family environment. Antigua and
Barbuda has a number of laws that address the need of providing alternative care
for such children.
- Under
section 7 of the Juvenile Act of 1951, Cap. 42, any person can provide
information on oath concerning cases where the best interests
of a child are
being jeopardized. According to section 12 of this Act, children in need of
alternative care can be removed from
harm and placed in the care and custody of
a fit person.
- Section
8 (1) of the same Act states that any police officer or other authorized person
(such as a probation officer or any person
appointed by the Governor-General)
may bring before a juvenile court a juvenile in need of “care and
protection”. Social
welfare officers in the employ of the Government as
well as a number of other agencies are empowered to make recommendations
concerning
the plight of children. The role and functions of some of these
agencies (other than those discussed in this section) will be treated
later in
the section on social security and childcare services and facilities (sect.
VI-D).
- There
are two institutions that seek to provide a secure environment for those girls
who are removed from their families for reasons
of their personal safety or
those whose parents are not fulfilling their parental obligations and
responsibilities adequately. These
are the
Sunshine Home for Girls and the
Good Shepherd Home run by the Salvation Army and the Roman Catholic’s
Saint Vincent de Paul
Society, respectively.
- The
Salvation Army founded the Sunshine Home for Girls in 1992. The Home provides a
safe and secure environment for girls who come
into conflict with the law.
Although the Sunshine Home is managed by an NGO, the Government gives it an
annual grant that goes a
long way to defray the expenses of running the
facility.
- At
present, there are eight girls in residence, aged 13 to 16 years. The facility
is a comfortable one. Each girl has her own bed
and personal space. Staff at
the Home consists of two resident females, one of whom is also the
administrator. Some girls are “home
schooled” by a teacher who is
an employee of the Government. Others attend the school that they had been
attending before
they entered the Home. They have regular counselling sessions
with trained personnel of the Salvation Army.
- During
a girl’s stay in the Home, she is also involved in a number of training
and rehabilitative exercises that are designed
to prepare her for her return
home. Parents have visitation rights and depending on her behaviour and family
environment, a girl
may be allowed to go home occasionally.
- The
Good Shepherd Home was started by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in 1983
as a residential facility for girls between the
ages of 5 and 18 years. The aim
of this Home is to provide temporary or permanent shelter for girls who fall
into the category of
the homeless, the abused or the neglected. Each girl has
her own bed and shares in household tasks such as cooking, cleaning and
gardening. For performing these tasks, the girls are given a small allowance
that they may choose to spend on clothing and other
personal needs. They also
receive yearly medical and dental check-ups.
- The
children are referred to the Home through social workers. The number of girls
who currently reside in the Home is 13. The girls
come from different
backgrounds and they belong to different religious denominations. As this is a
faith-based institution, each
child is encouraged to go to a place of worship of
her particular denomination. Except where it is in the best interests of the
child, each girl continues to attend the school at which she was placed before
coming to the Home. The children also attend evening
classes to get help with
their homework and in subject areas where they are weak. Several of the girls
are becoming computer literate
and two have received certificates in basic
computer literacy. Extra-curricular activities such as outings, sports and
games are
organized on a regular basis for the girls.
- Unlike
what obtains for girls, there are no safe houses or places of alternative care
for boys who suffer from parental neglect or
who need to be removed from their
family environment. Generally, boys in situations of such need are placed in
the Boys’ Training
School, a Governmentrun institution for boys who come
in conflict with the law. (This institution will be discussed later in section
VIII-E below.)
- A
number of children are in foster care, although there are no specific local laws
that deal with fostering. As discussed above,
section 12 of the Juvenile Act,
Cap. 42, allows children who are in need of alternative care to be placed into
the care and custody
of a fit person.
- The
Citizens’ Welfare Division of the Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and
Cooperatives keeps a record of all children who are
officially in foster care.
The table below summarizes some vital statistics of foster children culled from
this register.
Table 3
Children in foster care, by age group and sex, in
Antigua and Barbuda,
August 2001
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
%
|
Under 1 year
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
1.85
|
1-5 years
|
13
|
11
|
24
|
22.22
|
6-10 years
|
14
|
12
|
26
|
24.07
|
11-15 years
|
13
|
17
|
30
|
27.78
|
16-18 years
|
4
|
11
|
15
|
13.89
|
18+ but not yet 20
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
2.78
|
Age not specified
|
4
|
4
|
8
|
7.41
|
Total
|
49
|
59
|
108
|
100.00
|
Source: Foster Care Register, Social Welfare Division, 2001.
- From
the table above it can be seen that there are, at present, 108 children who are
officially in foster care. Of that total, 12
are in informal care. By this is
meant that the court has not placed such children in foster care, but the
Citizen’s Welfare
Division has come to the rescue of these children in
need and has found foster homes for them.
- There
is some gender disparity between the numbers of males and females in foster
care: 59, or 55 per cent girls compared with 49,
or 45 per cent boys.
As would be expected, there are fewer older children in foster care. The age
group with the largest percentage
of children in care is that of 11-15
years. However, it will be observed from the table
that 48.14 per cent of those in foster care
are under the age of
10 years.
- When
a foster child attains the age of 18 years, the foster parent ceases to get
financial help for such a foster child and all the
obligations of the Government
to such a child also cease. However, as indicated in the table above, there are
three children who
are at least 18 years old, yet are still living with foster
parents.
F. Adoption (art. 21)
- Not
many adoptions take place in the State. Culturally, there are informal
practices whereby a mother may place her child with a
relative or even close
friend to be raised as that person’s child. The culturally accepted
practice is that the biological
mother does not relinquish her legal rights to
the child and usually retains some emotional link to it, albeit in some
circumstances,
a very tenuous one. Generally, the parties involved do not
regard such an arrangement as an adoption. But in reality, this kind
of
arrangement is tantamount to a de facto adoption. This has raised some serious
problems in the past relating to the rights of
the “parent(s)” who
have such children in their custody. It is a relatively common occurrence for
the biological mother
to “reclaim” her child, often at an age when
the child can be of some help to her in the household. But, as shall be
seen,
this issue is addressed in the current Adoption Laws discussed below.
- Also,
conventionally, the rights of children to inherit property from the persons who
raised them in such circumstances are not defined.
However, there are
well-defined laws governing legal adoptions that protect the rights of both the
children and the adoptive parents.
- The
legal provisions governing adoptions are to be found mainly in the Adoption of
Children Act, Cap. 343. The law makes it very clear that, in matters
relating to adoption, the best interests of the child are of paramount
importance.
The more salient points of this Act are presented here.
- All
matters relating to adoptions are heard in the High Court. The
Magistrate’s Court has no jurisdiction to hear adoption
matters.
- Section
2 of the Act states that only unmarried persons - “infants” - who
are under the age of 18 years can be adopted. The consent
of the parent or
guardian of the infant in respect of whom the application is made or has actual
custody is normally required. However,
the court can dispense with such consent
if the surrounding circumstances and other matters warrant a dispensation of
consent.
- Before
making an adoption order, the court must be satisfied that the order it will
make will be for the welfare of the child. The
wishes of the child can be taken
into consideration depending on the age and understanding of the child. The
court can also impose
terms and conditions as it thinks fit, such as requiring
the adopter by bond or otherwise, to make provision for the adopted child.
- However,
there are restrictions on the making of adoption orders. The applicant (that
is, the person wishing to adopt) must not be
under the age of 25 or less than 21
years older than the child in respect of whom the order is being sought.
- Section
3 states that normally no order will be made where the sole applicant is male
and the infant in respect of whom the application is
made is female, unless the
court feels that there are special circumstances which justify making the
order.
- The
court can make interim orders in the same manner and on the same terms as in
final orders. Thus in keeping with section 7, the court has power to appoint a
person to act as guardian of the child upon the hearing of the application with
the duty of safeguarding
the interests of the child before the court.
- According
to section 11, the court can sanction existing de facto adoption arrangements as
those described above. In instances where a child is in the custody
of, and is
being brought up, maintained and educated by, any person or two spouses jointly
under any de facto adoption and has for
a period of at least two years, the
court may upon the application of such a person or spouse make an order even if
the applicant
is male and the child is a female.
- An
adoption order gives the adopter full parental rights over the child as though
the adopted child was a child born to the adopter
in lawful wedlock. Thus the
rights of inheritance of a child, as set out in the law for children born to
married couples, apply
as well to adopted children. But the law also protects
the rights of the adopted (such as the right to keep property) that he or
she
may have had prior to being adopted.
- The
Act also ensures that an adopted child is not saddled with encumbrances of his
or her adopted parent(s). It states in section
6 (2) that no right or interest
in property will be conferred upon the adopted child of the adopter where used
in any disposition
whether made before or after the adoption order, unless a
contrary intention appears.
- The
law mandates that a register called the “Adoption Children Register”
must be kept by the RegistrarGeneral. The Register
will contain the date of
birth and identity of the child and date of adoption. Also, a note of the
adoption will be in the Register
of Births.
- Finally,
the local law does not recognize, indeed expressly forbids, adoptions from one
country to another. Section 3 (5) of the Adoption of Children Act, Cap. 343,
provides that an applicant who is not resident or domiciled in the State of
Antigua and Barbuda cannot adopt an Antiguan
or Barbudan child. The rationale
for these provisions in the law could be that the courts are reluctant to grant
orders that they
are unable to supervise. Also, the court has no jurisdiction
over any child who is not a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda or is not
resident in
the State.
G. Illicit transfer and non-return (art. 11)
- Antigua
and Barbuda is signatory to three international treaties that relate to the
illicit transfer and non-return of children.
They are the International
Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children of 30
September 1921 and its Protocol
of 1947 and the InterAmerican Convention on the
International Return of Children of 1989. This latter Convention was ratified
in
1994.
- Over
the years, very few cases of kidnapping of children and removal of them to
another country have come to the attention of the
courts. There have been some
allegations of the kidnapping of children in Antigua and the children taken to
other Caribbean islands
and vice versa, but such cases have not been adjudicated
in the courts.
H. Abuse and neglect (art. 19)
- The
rights of the child in emergency situations such as neglect and abuse are
protected broadly in three main statutes: the Offences
Against the Person Act,
Cap. 58, the Juvenile Act of 1951 and the Sexual Offences Act of 1995.
(The Juvenile Offences Act will be
discussed in more detail in section
VIII-B.)
- Several
sections of the Offences against the Person Act protect children from a variety
of abuses, including aggravated assault, rape
(females only), indecent assault,
sodomy, infanticide, concealment of birth, kidnapping and exposing a child
whereby life is endangered.
It is also an offence to abduct an unmarried girl
under16 years against the will of her father and mother. Child stealing is also
an offence, but neither the mother nor the father of a child can be charged with
this offence.
- In
1995, the Sexual Offences Act was passed to address many sexual offences that
were not treated adequately under the old Offences
Against the Person Act. The
newer Act also takes into consideration certain sexual offences that, though
they have always existed,
have come to the fore of public debate in recent
times. For instance, the old Offences Against the Person Act was silent on the
issue of sexual abuse of children by their parents or other relatives. The
newer Sexual Offences Act defends the right of the child
to be protected from
incestuous relationships. This Act states in section 8 that “a person
commits the offence of incest knowing
that another person is, by blood
relationship, his or her parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent,
grandchild, uncle, niece,
aunt or nephew, as the case may be, and has sexual
intercourse with that person”. Under section 8 (3) of the Act, there are
various punishments for persons convicted of incest. The punishments
are:
(a) Life imprisonment, if committed by an adult with a person
under 14 years
of age;
(b) Fifteen years’ imprisonment, if committed by an adult with a
person aged 14 years or more;
(c) Two years’ imprisonment, if committed between minors aged 14 years
or more.
- There
are no local laws that deal with the issue of protecting children against mental
violence in particular. However, today, there
is considerable awareness in all
sections of society that verbal and/or emotional abuse is just as harmful as
physical abuse. Currently,
this issue is being consistently addressed in the
“parenting workshops” mentioned earlier on.
- For
legal action to be taken, instances of neglect, abuse or any other form of
violence against any child must be brought to the attention
of the police or a
government social worker. When such a case is known, chapter 229, section 7, of
the Juvenile Act provides for
a Magistrate to issue a warrant authorizing any
police officer to search for the juvenile. If indeed the juvenile is found
being
neglected, abused, assaulted or violated in any way, the officer can
remove the juvenile and detain him in a place of safety until
he or she can be
brought before a juvenile court.
- To
date, there are no officially designated places of safety in Antigua and Barbuda
to hold children until their cases are heard by
a magistrate. Therefore, in
most instances, the children are held at the police station and brought before a
magistrate as soon
as possible. Once the magistrate rules on what is to be done
with the children, there are a number of agencies, institutions and
initiatives
that offer counselling, rehabilitation and a safe haven. The majority of these
are non-governmental. (Some of these
initiatives were discussed above in
section E “Children deprived of family environment”.)
I. Periodic review of placement (art. 25)
- There
is no local law that makes provision specifically for a periodic review of the
treatment provided for a child who “has
been placed by competent
authorities for the purposes of care, protection, or treatment of his or her
physical or mental health”.
The Juvenile Act, Cap. 42, section 9 (2)
of 1951, does state, however, that an order made by a juvenile court may from
time to time
be reviewed, varied or revoked by the Court on its own motion or on
the application of any person.
J. Concluding comments
- Most
children in Antigua and Barbuda grow up in relatively safe family environments.
However, the problem of street children is just
beginning to rear its ugly head.
It is fast becoming a cause for serious concern to the nation. To date, no
studies have been done
to ascertain the number of children who are so deprived
of any parental care and protection that they have nowhere proper to live.
But
officials in the Ministry of Health and Social Improvement have expressed
concern for the welfare of such children and have
instituted an ongoing
programme to monitor the activities of such children and to ensure that they
attend school regularly.
- The
issue of maintenance of children is one that has been dealt with fairly recently
in law. In 1993, the laws governing the maintenance
of children were revised to
upgrade the minimum payment a father should make towards the upkeep of his
child. Many persons who deal
with the welfare of children hold that, given the
current high cost of living, the current minimum figure is still too low.
However,
the most recent amendment to the law also allows for a means test to be
instituted that would compel working fathers to pay as much
in child maintenance
as they can afford.
- It
is pertinent to make the observation here that many of the fathers who fail to
maintain their children tend to come from the lower
income brackets. Thus, the
fact that, in some cases, they fail to maintain their children adequately can
perhaps be attributed more
to their financial inability to do so than a
deliberate act of irresponsibility. But this observation does not in any way
absolve
fathers from doing the best they can to contribute to their
children’s welfare.
- It
was pointed out earlier that children may be taken from their family environment
by the court and placed with persons whom the
court regard as fit persons to
look after their welfare, or they may be placed in institutions that cater for
their rehabilitation.
It can be argued that the power to vary an order as
stated above in the Juvenile Act can be seen to function as an indirect method
of ensuring that periodic reviews take place. However, the local law falls
short of the Convention’s specific requirements
on this issue.
- Although
the fostering of children is done quite efficiently, using guidelines set under
the Juvenile Act that allow children who
need alternate care and protection to
be placed with “fit persons”, there is a need for specific laws that
would put
such practices on a surer legal footing.
- It
must be admitted that the best interests of boys who are neglected or abused are
not being served by current practices. It is
generally recognized that placing
boys who need care and protection in the Boys’ Training School - A
Borstal-type of institution
- is by no means a satisfactory arrangement for
them. A separate facility, similar to those that have been established for
girls,
must be built for boys who are not necessarily delinquent.
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
A. Right to life, survival and development (art. 6)
- A
child’s inherent right to life is ensured under section 4 of the
Constitution which says that “no person shall be deprived of his life
intentionally save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect
of a crime
of treason or murder, of which he has been convicted”. It was
demonstrated in the previous section that under the
Offences Against the Person
Act, the right of the child not to be abused or neglected is protected in law.
- The
right of the child to survival and development is clearly recognized by the
Government’s commitment to providing adequate
health care for all its
citizens and residents in Antigua and Barbuda. To this end, the Government has
established nine primary
health centres and 17 satellite clinics throughout the
island of Antigua - in the city of St. John and all the major villages as
well
as one in the sister island of Barbuda. Thus, free primary health care is
available to all. The 26 primary health-care centres
located throughout the
nation have permanent staff in attendance including nurse practitioners, a
public health nurse, a trained
nurse/midwife and other ancillary staff. A
doctor is attached to each clinic and is in attendance one day a week.
Consultation
and treatment are free for specified age groups. Serious or
difficult cases are referred to the Government’s general hospital,
known
as “Holberton Hospital” for further treatment or admission.
Holberton Hospital is centrally located in the city
of St. John. There is a
children’s ward at this hospital. The Government is currently building a
new hospital with modern
facilities and equipment. This new hospital is located
not far from the present hospital. Treatment and prescribed medication at
the
Holberton Hospital is free for all children under 16 years of age, the
elderly and also for persons who contribute to the Medical
Benefits Scheme.
However, the increasing influx of migrants mainly from other Caribbean countries
is putting a tremendous strain
on social services, particularly health services.
- Some
current, statistical indicators that are relevant to the survival and
development of children include the following:
(a) A crude birth
rate of 14.04 (per 1,000 of the population) in the year 2000;
(b) A crude death rate of 4.45 (per 1,000 of the population) in the year
2000;
(c) An under5 years old mortality rate of 20 (per 1,000 live births) in the
year 1999. According to the UNICEF document entitled
“The State of the
World’s Children - Early Childhood (2001)”, for this indicator,
Antigua and Barbuda has a high
rank of 133 in the world (the highest possible
rank is 187);
(d) An infant mortality rate of 17 (per 1,000 live births) in the year 1999.
There were only 19 neonatal deaths (under 28 days old)
in 1999;
(e) An excellent maternal mortality rate of 0 per 10,000 over the last 10
years. This is mainly due to the fact that 100 per cent
of all births take
place in either the government hospital or in a private medical centre;
(f) A current fertility rate of 2.31 births per woman;
(g) The current estimated life expectancy at birth is 68.45 years for males
and 73.14 for females;
(h) The number of infants with low birth weights (>2,500 grams) fell from
67 in 1999 to 48 in the year 2000;
(i) In the year 1999, 96 per cent of the population (rural and urban
combined) were using adequate sanitation facilities;
(j) In the year 1999, 91 per cent of the population (rural and urban
combined) were using improved drinking water sources;
(k) A current estimated adult literacy rate of 88 per cent for males and
females combined.
B. Disabled children (art. 23)
- There
are no local laws that specifically address the rights of disabled children or
adults. However, the Government recognizes the
indisputable fact that persons
with disabilities must enjoy the same rights and freedoms as everyone else.
- The
report now examines the status of children with disabilities and then describes
a number of initiatives that have been undertaken
to enhance their quality of
life.
- In
January 2000, UNICEF published the results of a survey on “Children with
Disabilities in the Caribbean”. The results
of this survey form a crucial
part of the situational analysis of the status of children with disabilities in
Antigua and Barbuda.
- The
survey covered 14.5 per cent of the population in the age group 0-18 years. Its
findings showed that 58, or 1.4 per cent, of
the sample population of 4,093
children had some sort of disability. Based on the assumption that the sample
was random and thus
typical of the total population in that age group (22,199 in
1991), it is safe to conclude that the nation has approximately 4,143
children
with disabilities - about 7 per cent of the total population. This is well
within the estimated international range of
8 to 12 per cent.
- The
survey found that a significantly higher number of boys than girls were
disabled: 55 per cent boys to 45 per cent girls.
Difficulties
in learning were the most common disabilities reported by 46.5 per
cent of the sample. The other disabilities that were identified
are as follows:
difficulties with moving - 32.7 per cent; difficulties with seeing - 6.9 per
cent; difficulties with hearing/speech
- 5.2 per cent and the other 8.6 per cent
suffered from fits.
- There
is no separate institution catering for children who are mentally ill. Children
who show signs of being emotionally disturbed
may be referred to the Child and
Family Guidance Clinic run by the Collaborative Committee for the Promotion of
Emotional Health
in Children. Those children who are diagnosed as mentallyill
may be detained in the children’s ward of the general hospital
where they
come under the care of the resident psychiatrists. If they fail to respond to
treatment there, when they are older, they
may be placed in the mental hospital
along with adults.
Services for children with disabilities
- There
are a number of specialized agencies that cater for children with disabilities.
Some of these will be examined here.
- The
Education Act of 1973 makes no specific provisions for the education of children
with special needs. But over the years, a number of specialized
institutions -
governmental and nongovernmental - have emerged which offer some schooling
(though limited) to children with various
types of disabilities. At present,
there are approximately 224 children with disabilities receiving some level of
specialized care
and schooling.
- For
several decades the Ministry of Education has run special programmes for the
hearing impaired and the visually impaired with trained
staff. In keeping with
current trends, the Ministry of Education is attempting as far as possible to
integrate children with these
disabilities into normal school life. However, it
is necessary to acknowledge that, to date, they are only partially integrated
into the regular life of the school.
- At
present, the Ministry of Education maintains two specialized units at the T.N.
Kirnon School - centrally located in the city -
one for blind children and the
other for deaf children. These students go to the units (housed in a separate
building in the school
compound) every day and return home after school hours.
In addition, three children who are physically disabled attend regular classes
at a government primary school - the Potter’s Primary. The teachers there
do not have any special training to deal with disabled
children, but both
teachers and students are sympathetic to the needs of these children.
- The
Antigua and Barbuda Council of and for the Handicapped and the Antigua and
Barbuda Society of and for the Blind are two associations
that monitor closely
the rights of persons with disabilities. As well as these two organizations,
two other very active NGOs - the
Antigua and Barbuda Association of Parents of
Exceptional Children (ABAPEC) and the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Persons
with
Disabilities (ABAPD) - have done much to enhance public awareness of the
rights of persons with disabilities.
- One
of the earliest institutions for disabled children to be established is the
Adele Special School. Started by two private individuals
in 1970, it was taken
over by the Government in 1978. The school caters for children with a
variety of disabilities, including mental
retardation,
Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism. The children attend the
school during the day and the more severely
handicapped are transported from
their respective homes in a specially designed bus. The Ministry of Labour,
Home Affairs and Cooperatives,
through its Citizens’ Welfare Division,
also maintains a Rehabilitation Centre for the Handicapped where regular therapy
and
counselling sessions are facilitated by trained staff. Some of the children
who are capable of doing so receive skills training
in an effort to make them
productive. In preparation for placement in the job market, they are sent out
on job practice, where possible.
- The
Ministry also instituted in 1990 an “Early Intervention Programme”
which caters for children who are disabled from
birth. Most of these children
and indeed, other disabled children, are cared for by their parents or other
relatives.
- In
1996 a residential home named “Amazing Grace Foundation” was started
initially by an NGO to house two children with
severe disabilities who could not
be cared for by their parents. It has since expanded its scope of operations to
become a clinic
where new cases can be documented and follow-ups ensured. The
Ministry of Health and Social Improvement, through
- its
Social Improvement Sector, now supports this institution by paying the salaries
of two “liaison officers” who bring
the children to the clinic
and take them to whatever scheduled appointments they may have.
- Below
is a table summarizing the institutional services that are available for
children with disabilities.
Table 4
Provision for children with special needs in Antigua
and Barbuda
|
Number of children
|
Age range of children
|
Total number of staff
|
Trained teachers
|
Type of disability
|
Adele School
|
67
|
5-22
|
4
|
1
|
MR, DS, autism
|
Unit for Blind Children
|
9
|
5-12
|
2
|
1
|
Blindness
|
Unit for Deaf Children
|
9
|
5-16
|
4
|
1
|
Deafness
|
Amazing Grace Clinic
|
136*
|
|
4
|
-
|
MR, DS, CP
|
Potters Primary School
|
3
|
5-15
|
1
|
-
|
CP
|
Source: UNICEF Draft Document - Situational Analysis of Children
with Disabilities in the Caribbean (January 2000).
Key: MR (mental retardation); DS (Down’s syndrome); CP
(cerebral palsy).
* The majority of children attend this clinic as outpatients enrolled in
the Government’s Early Intervention Programme.
C. Health and health services (art. 24)
1. Legislative
provisions for health and health services
- There
are a number of laws in Antigua and Barbuda that deal with policies and
practices relating to the health and welfare of both
the individual and the
wider society. Three of the most important of such laws
are:
(a) The Public Health Act of 1960. This Act established a
body to oversee the administration of health and related matters, including
the
enforcement of regulations pertaining to food and drugs and certain
environmental controls;
(b) District Medical Fees Abolition Act of 1960. This Act abolished all
fees that patients used to pay to the district doctors -
government employees
who deliver primary health care in the villages and the capital city of St.
John;
(c) The Medical Benefits Act of 1978. This Act brought into being the
Medical Benefits Scheme which makes provisions for financial
assistance to
certain classes of persons in certain circumstances. The main beneficiaries of
the Scheme are the contributors - mainly
working persons in the age category
16-60 years. The Scheme also recognizes as beneficiaries persons in the
dependency category,
including children up to the age of 16 years. They, too,
are entitled to receive free (or in some instances, at a greatly reduced
cost)
medical attention and care. In addition, under the Scheme, drugs are provided
free of cost for a number of specified
illnesses and diseases such as sickle-cell anaemia, diabetes, certified
lunacy, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, leprosy, glaucoma
and hypertension. In
certain cases, the Scheme also assists with the expenses incurred for specialist
medical treatment obtained
abroad.
2. Primary health care/maternal and child health
- In
the primary health-care system, particular emphasis is placed on maternal and
child health. Prenatal and post-natal services are
available free of charge at
the 24 clinics located throughout the country.
- Maternal
health in the country is very good. In 1991, only one maternal death was
recorded and since then, there have been no maternal
deaths. This can be
attributed largely to the excellent prenatal and post-natal care that mothers
receive at the primary health-care
clinics.
- Mothers
are encouraged to bring their infants and children for regular check-ups at
their community clinics. Careful records of the
vital statistics of infants and
young children
detailing their developmental progress are kept. Free dental
check-ups and some dental treatment are available presently at the St.
John’s Health Centre. This service will be expanded to other communities
when the construction of two new clinics located
in All Saints and
Browne’s Avenue is completed shortly. However, optical services are not
yet available at the clinics. There
is also the need for a free public
programme that would screen for optical problems, especially in the early years
of childhood.
- Immunization
should take place before a child enters primary school. Section 16 (2) of the
Education Act of 1973 states that “no child shall be admitted as a pupil
to a public school which is a primary school until his parent or
guardian
produces a certificate issued by a doctor or the public health authorities
indicating that the child has been immunized
against tetanus, pertussis, polio
and diphtheria”. Although the law mentions only public, primary schools
specifically, all
schools in the country - both public and private - uphold this
law. The parents or guardians of all schoolchildren have to present
their
children’s health cards on entry to all schools.
- By
1990, the country had achieved the excellent immunization rate of 100 per cent
for 1yearold children against DPT, polio, measles
(rubella) and mumps.
This achievement can, in large measure, be attributed to the relentless efforts
of the public health nurses,
working in the Expanded Programme on Immunization
(EPI) and the fact that the Government is fully committed to the programme. The
Government finances 100 per cent of the routine vaccines for EPI.
- Like
other countries in the region, Antigua and Barbuda is free of polio and there
have been no cases of measles reported for the
past 10 years. There are,
however, periodic outbreaks of chickenpox occurring in children of all ages as
well as adults. These
outbreaks have been attributed to the importation of the
disease. To date, no case of chickenpox has been fatal.
- It
is pertinent here to introduce the topic of AIDS - a worldwide catastrophe that
has struck children in this country as well. The
principal agency dealing with
this health and social problem is the AIDS Secretariat. Established in 1992 by
the Government, the
Secretariat monitors closely all reported cases of HIV/AIDS
infection. From December 1985 when statistics were first collected to
2000 (the
year of the latest available statistics), there
have
- been
30 reported cases of infections in persons under the age of 20 years. Of that
total, 18 persons are in the 09 years age group; none in the
10-14 age group and 12 in
the 15-19 age group. Of
the 18 children, aged 0-9, who have been infected, 10 have had
fullblown AIDS - 4 males and 6 females.
- The
agency currently has a staff complement of 10 persons. They offer drug
treatment and counselling to all persons with HIV/AIDS
and their families as
well. The latest retroviral drugs are available, but they are very expensive.
The AIDS Secretariat also conducts
a vigorous, ongoing public campaign against
the spread of the disease. It uses all the media to enlighten the public about
its prevention
and has done much to change the attitudes of the public towards
persons infected with HIV/AIDS.
- There
are television advertisements and radio spots aimed specifically at youth. In
many of the schools - mainly those at the primary
level, but also in some at the
secondary level - health and family life education (HFLE) classes deal with the
crucial topic of HIV/AIDS
and other sexually transmitted diseases. HFLE classes
at the secondary level in particular also examine closely other crucial issues
such as self-esteem, human sexuality and decision-making processes.
3. Nutrition
- The
Government has been paying attention to the nutritional status of children in
the country. In 1989, the National Nutrition Committee,
in collaboration with
the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute and the PanAmerican Health
Organization, prepared a Food and Nutrition
Policy. As part of the
implementation process, they introduced a nutritional project called
“Project Lifestyle”. Obesity
was identified as the major
nutritional problem currently plaguing the nation’s children. The main
goals of Project Lifestyle
(which is still being implemented in some schools)
are:
(a) To monitor and improve the nutrition and health of
schoolchildren;
(b) To instil in children the knowledge, skills and motivation for
practising positive health and personal lifestyles.
- A
number of primary and secondary schools, both public and private, took part in
the project. The project continues to date in several
schools where the
students are taught to eat sensibly and to monitor their weight and blood
pressure.
4. Diarrhoeal disorders and malnutrition
Table 5
Cases
of gastroenteritis in Antigua and Barbuda for the period 1996
to the week
ending 18 August 2001
|
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
Gastro-enteritis <5 years
|
687
|
2 091
|
1 037
|
1 427
|
698
|
Gastro-enteritis >5 years
|
929
|
2 664
|
1 691
|
1 531
|
947
|
Total
|
1 616
|
4 755
|
2 728
|
2 958
|
1 645
|
Source: Health Information Division, Ministry of Health and Social
Improvement.
- In
local health statistics, the closest classification to cases of diarrhoeal
disorders are cases of gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis
in children aged 0-5
years is caused mainly by a viral infection. In 1996, there were 929 such cases
in children under 5 years.
The number of cases in this age group jumped to
2,664 in 1997 and then declined to almost half in 1998. Further declines were
experienced
in subsequent years and in 2000 the level of occurrence had declined
almost to the 1996 level. A similar trend can be observed for
cases occurring
in persons over the age of 5 years.
- The
Government has a National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) that has been in
place since 1989. This national body took over
from a pan-Caribbean body that
had existed for some time previously. In times of emergency, NODS coordinates
the activities of several
ministries and agencies, including the critical ones
of health and social welfare. The Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Health
Inspector are key members of committees that are appointed to deal with
emergencies.
- NODS
and the various agencies that it coordinates - both governmental and
nongovernmental - continue to do an excellent job in educating
the public on how
to cope in times of national disasters such as hurricanes, floods and
earthquakes. Emergency services, including
the provision of adequate shelter,
food and clothing, are available to those individuals and families in need. A
crucial component
of the public awareness programmes of NODS on radio and
television focuses on how to ensure that drinking water and food are safe
for
consumption.
- Malnutrition
rates have been falling over the last 12 years or so. In 1988, a total
of 78 children were diagnosed as having mild
to moderate malnutrition.
The number dropped to 49 in 1990, but climbed up to 89 in 1992. Figures
for severe malnutrition remain
in single digits - an average of five per
year.
5. Family planning
- Family
planning services are available at the government clinics and also at the
Antigua and Barbuda Planned Parenthood Association
clinic. Consultation is free
and the costs of the contraceptives of choice are heavily subsidized at all
clinics. The Caribbean
Family Planning Affiliation also has a branch office in
the country. This agency conducts research in family planning issues and
problems. It also organizes workshops and seminars and conducts advertising
campaigns on radio, television and by posters on current
family planning issues
and practices. Young persons are involved in the design and execution of some
of its programmes.
- There
are no local laws that prevent persons under the age of 18 years from seeking
contraceptive information and devices. It is
left to the discretion of the
personnel of the various government clinics and family planning services whether
or not to countenance
children seeking such advice and services.
D. Social security and childcare services and
facilities
(arts. 26 and 18, para. 3)
- Through
the Social Security Act of 1972, a fund was set up to provide for lifelong
insurance for the people of the nation. The main
contributors to the scheme are
working persons in the age category 16-60. However, some benefits accrue to
certain categories of
noncontributors such as elderly, low-income persons who
are paid a small stipend from the fund. The fund also provides compensation
to
contributing mothers who go on maternity leave and contributors who lose income
through illness.
- The
main agencies that defend the right of the child to adequate food, shelter and
care are the Social Improvement Sector of the Ministry
of Health and Social
Improvement and the Citizens’ Welfare Division of the Ministry of Labour,
Home Affairs and Cooperatives.
This latter department has four trained social
workers and four probation officers. They deal with cases that come to their
attention,
either directly from informants or from the police. Referrals are
then made to the relevant agencies both governmental and non-governmental.
- Section
VII-D above outlined the work being done by two NGOs - The Sunshine Home for
Girls and the Good Shepherd Home - in providing
facilities for girls who need
alternative care in a secure environment, away from their families. It was
noted that there are no
equivalent facilities for boys with similar needs.
- A
very active NGO, the Collaborative Committee for the Promotion of Emotional
Health in Children (CCOPE), was founded in 1987 by a
group of concerned persons
to address the needs of emotionally disturbed and abused children and their
families. Referrals are received
from a number of sources, namely, the police,
schools, churches, doctors and individual citizens who recognize the
difficulties children
and their families may be experiencing.
- CCOPE
offers a unique service to children aged 2-18 years through a Child and Family
Guidance Centre. This Centre is located in a
separate building in the compound
of the Holberton Hospital, the Government’s general hospital in the
city.
- This
Centre is strongly supported by the Government. The Government pays the
salaries of the staff and has also provided the building
that houses the Centre.
There are five persons currently on fulltime duty at the Centre. Three of the
staff members are trained
social workers, including the Director. The position
of a full-time psychologist has been filled recently, but that of an educational
psychologist, who can assess and evaluate children with learning difficulties,
remains vacant.
- Services
and treatment offered at the Centre include individual and group counselling,
play therapy, psychological and educational
assessments and behaviour
modification for both children and their family members. In 2000, the
Centre treated a total of 60 children
(37 males and 23 females) who
presented a wide range of problems from truancy to attempted suicide.
- CCOPE
also runs a programme called the “National Parenting and Resource
Centre” that focuses on the needs of parents,
guardians, caregivers and,
in particular, adolescent mothers. An attempt is made to teach them the skills
they need for effective
parenting.
- Other
NGO service organizations such as the Rotary Club, the Soroptimist International
Organization and the Lion and Leo Clubs continue
to provide assistance to needy
children, especially to those who have to undergo expensive medical treatment
abroad that is not available
locally or in the region.
- Given
the high percentage of women who are heads of households (at least 41.5 per cent
according to the 1991 census) the majority
of whom are working mothers, there is
a great need for day-care centres to assist mothers in the minding and rearing
of their children.
It should be noted here that there are only a few facilities
that cater exclusively for babies and infants. Most of the childcare
centres
are pre-schools or so-called “Child Development Centres” - some of
which also have facilities to look after very
young children. (These types of
mixed-age institutions will be discussed in section VII below.)
- Currently,
there are only 20 day-care centres that cater exclusively for babies and
infants. Of that number, seven are governmentowned
crèches, four of
which are located in rural Antigua. The government-owned crèches offer
daycare services to working
mothers at highly subsidized rates. Therefore, the
demand for the limited places is high. The parents pay monthly or weekly fees
at the privately owned and operated facilities.
- In
1999-2000, there were 325 children enrolled in such institutions: 174 boys
and 151 girls. It will be observed that there are
slightly more boys
than girls enrolled in these child-care facilities. This is not surprising as
slightly more boys than girls are
born in the country.
- Most
of the pre-schools and child development centres take in children as young
as 2 years, once they are toilet-trained, fully or
partially. In
accordance with the provisions of the Education Act, all of these institutions
insist that their charges be immunized before or during their stays at the
centres. This, then, is another
means whereby childhood immunization is
assured.
- At
present, there are no laws governing the establishment and conduct of day-care
centres and pre-schools, but this situation will
very soon be rectified as draft
legislation to control these has been tabled and debated in Parliament in 1999.
There is, however,
regular oversight of all of such institutions through the
Ministry of Education. This Ministry has set guidelines for the operation
of
all centres that cater for children, which, though not legally enforceable, are
honoured in the main.
- In
keeping with cultural norms, a number of children are catered for daily in
informal family settings where a mother or grandmother
who stays at home may
“look after” the infants or pre-school children of relatives,
friends or neighbours. The total
number of children involved in such
arrangements is not known, but rarely exceeds five per household. To date, the
Citizens’
Welfare Division and the Social Improvement Sector have received
very few official complaints of inadequate or substandard care of
children in
such establishments.
E. Concluding comments
- The
basic health and welfare of the nation’s children are of a relatively high
standard. The basic indicators of good health
of children such as the infant
mortality rate and the immunization rate are at levels comparable to the best in
the developing world,
if not the entire world. The success in providing a
healthy environment for young children and their mothers is, in large measure,
a
consequence of the robust primary health-care system that extends throughout the
nation.
- However,
it must be acknowledged here that, during the consultative process for the
review of the National Strategic Plan for 2001-2004
held in November 2000, there
were some complaints from members of the public concerning the primary
health-care system. Though they
recognized that the system was basically sound,
they deplored the limitations in clinic hours and the fact that some doctors did
not always show up on time at the clinics. The participants recommended that
there must be improvement in this aspect of the delivery
of primary health
care.
- It
was emphasized above that a major cause for concern regarding the health of the
nation’s children are the increasingly high
levels of obesity evident
among all age groups. It is not possible to legislate eating habits of people,
neither is it easy to persuade
them to change them for the better. This task is
especially difficult at present when the recently acquired habit of eating
“snack
foods” such as corn curls, potato chips, pizza and the like
is linked to a perception that this is how many persons eat in
the “first
world”. This problem has to be addressed with vigour before it is too
late.
- Legislation
is in place that allows much of the health and welfare services to be accessed
by all, free of cost. It must be admitted,
however, that because of financial
constraints, medication is not always available to the patient at no cost, as it
should be.
- The
welfare of disabled children is recognized by the Government to be of crucial
importance to the overall well-being of the citizens
of the nation. In the
past, Caribbean peoples tended to “hide away” persons with severe
physical and mental disabilities,
especially children. Today, most fortunately,
attitudes to the disabled have changed considerably for the better. The
overwhelming
majority of children with disabilities are currently involved in
one programme or another where they are receiving due care and attention.
- It
must be acknowledged, however, that some organizations, which focus on the
rights of persons with disabilities, feel that much
more needs to be done to
improve the quality of life of disabled persons. Equality of opportunity,
particularly with regard to education,
training and employment, remains an issue
of major concern. They suggest that practical measures such as the construction
of ramps
to public buildings need to be more widely instituted. The allocation
of adequate financial resources to some (if not all) schools
so that more
disabled children can be integrated into regular school life is another issue
that we feel is worthy of attention.
- The
particular issue of mentally ill children needs to be brought to the fore of
public consciousness. Though their numbers remain
small, the current practice
of housing them with adults is being reviewed with the aim of establishing
separate facilities for their
treatment and rehabilitation.
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
A. Education, including vocational training and guidance (art.
28)
1. Legislation
- The
provision of education and the operation of schools in Antigua and Barbuda are
governed by the Education Act, No. 7 of 1973. (This Act replaces the Education
Act, Cap. 145.) Basically, under this Act, the school system is organized into
two categories: public schools which are owned wholly
by the Government, and
private schools which are maintained by a proprietor or proprietors or an
authority other than the Government.
- Section
43 (1) of the Education Act makes it compulsory for all children aged 5
to
16 years to attend school. There is no discrimination in access for children of
compulsory school age. Section 7 of the Act states that “no person
shall be refused admission to any public school on account of the religious or
political
persuasion, race, social status of such a person or his
parents”. In addition, section 17 guarantees that no child who is
eligible for admission to a public school shall be refused admission except on
the authority of the Minister of Education in each
particular case. Access may
be denied in cases where children are suspended or expelled from school, but
sections 23 and 24 of the Act set out very stringent guidelines on how,
when and why children can be suspended or expelled from school.
- It
must be mentioned here that, though not deliberately engendered, there seems to
be some discrimination in access to free, public
education with respect to the
children of immigrants. Immigrant parents report that they are often advised by
Ministry of Education
officials to seek to place their children in private
fee-paying schools for one or two years until space opens up in a government
school. This policy is not written down, but seems to have emerged purely as an
attempt by Ministry officials to deal with the shortage
of school spaces
generated mainly by the recent tremendous influx into the country of so-called
“economic migrants”.
- Section
44 states that it is the duty of parents/guardians of every child of compulsory
school age to ensure that their child receives efficient,
full-time education
suitable to his or her age, ability and aptitude. The law further provides for
Education Officers and the Head
Teachers of every school (both public and
private) to monitor school attendance of all children of compulsory school age.
Parents
who are remiss in making sure that their children attend school pay a
penalty. According to section 50 (1) of the Act, “a parent of a child of
compulsory school age who neglects or refuses to cause the child to attend
school is,
unless the child is legally excused from attendance, guilty of an
offence and on summary conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding
50 dollars”.
- Education
is free at all levels of the public school system, but, as was noted in
section VI-B above, there is a need for improved provisions for children
with disabilities
so that they can have equal access to education.
- Another
local law that indicates the determination of the Government to enhance the
education of the nation’s children is the
Board of Education Act passed in
1994. According to section 9 (1) of this Act, the Minister of Education is
responsible for forwarding to the Board policies relating to matters provided
under
the Act. These include:
(a) Priorities for the purpose of
utilizing the sums provided by the Fund;
(b) The areas of studies and training for the award of bursaries, financial
assistance and scholarships;
(c) Guidelines for administering and managing the textbook assistance
scheme;
(d) Directives or any other matter that the Minister may see fit.
- The
Board of Education awards hundreds of scholarships and bursaries every year to
young persons to attend tertiary institutions at
home, in the region and around
the world. It makes the awards through the National Scholarship Committee
- an independent
body - the members of which represent various stakeholders
in the education process. In the 2000/2001 academic year, the Board spent
over 2 million dollars on bursaries and scholarships to some 308 students.
- The
Board’s Textbook Assistance Scheme provides all the textbooks that
children use in schools at both the primary and secondary
levels. The books are
made available to students on loan, free of cost. The Scheme also assists all
schools, both public and private,
with teaching materials such as chalk and
stationery, as well as cleaning and bathroom supplies.
- For
the academic year 2000/2001, the Board estimates that it spent $378.03 per child
on textbooks at the kindergarten level - the
first year of primary school. At
the final grade of the primary level - Grade 6, it spent $565.22 per child on
textbooks. At the
secondary level, the costs ran into thousands of dollars per
student.
- Over
the years, the Board has also undertaken major repairs of several government
schools.
2. Administration and management of education
- Under
the Education Act of 1973, the Ministry of Education (currently named the
Ministry of Education, Culture and Technology) is responsible for the provision
of education in Antigua and Barbuda. The Minister of Education is the head of
the Ministry. He or she executes the Government’s
policies with respect
to education and is assisted by officers in the Ministry.
- The
administration of education is divided into two main categories: General
Administration and Educational Administration. The
Permanent Secretary is the
chief administrative officer with responsibility for the general administration
of the Ministry. The
Chief Education Officer is the chief adviser with
responsibility for specific educational matters such as the teaching staff,
curricula,
finance and the observance of the Education Act as it pertains to the
conduct of schools, school premises, student admissions, attendance and
discipline.
B. The philosophy and aims of education (art. 29)
- The
Government of Antigua and Barbuda holds that the development of its human
resources is the key to national development. The Government
believes in the
concept of lifelong education and has made available opportunities for students
who are above the compulsory school
age to attend a wide range of educational
establishments that offer continuing education programmes.
- The
main aims of education are set out in the comprehensive Education Act of 1973
noted above. The aims or objectives of this Act serve to ensure:
(a) The establishment of a system of education designed to provide
adequately for the planning and development of an educational
service relating
to the changing needs of the community;
(b) The effective execution of the education policy, management and
operation of all educational establishments of the Government.
- In
addition to the aims spelled out in the Education Act, the Government has
produced another major policy document - the Draft Education Policy of 1991
(revised in 1994). This document
sets out the basic philosophy of the
Government’s education policy in these words: “The
Government’s Education
Policy is predicated on the philosophy that each
child should first be socialized as a human being and only secondly as an
economic
unit of production. To this end, the Educational System is expected to
develop creative/innovative and adaptable men and women and
in the process,
identify, nurture and cultivate as fully as possible each child’s
capability, aptitude, skill and strength.”
C. Institutional infrastructure
1. Pre-schools
- The
first level in the educational system is that of pre-schools. These are centres
that cater for children aged 3-5 years (although
some children leave before they
are 5 to attend private primary schools). To date, the Government has not
established any pre-schools.
All of the preschools in the country are privately
owned and managed.
- As
was discussed in the previous section, several of the pre-schools also have
daycare facilities for younger children. It is thus
very difficult to obtain
statistics on pre-school enrolment only. Most of the childcare facilities take
in children as young as
three months and keep them until
age 4 or 5, at which age they then enter primary schools that
have so-called “infant”
and kindergarten departments.
- In
1985, there were only about 10 of such pre-school/day-care/child development
centres. Ten years later in 1995, the number had risen
rapidly to 64 - an
increase of over 500 per cent. Currently they number about 110. Thus, over the
last 15 years or so, there has
been a phenomenal increase in the number of
formal establishments caring for children.
- In
the academic year 1999/2000, the 110 childcare centres had a total enrolment
of 2,809 children. This is roughly 35-40 per cent
of the children in
the age group 0-4 years. As in the case of the enrolment in daycare
centres discussed previously, there were
slightly more boys enrolled than girls:
1,435, or 51 per cent, males to 1,374, or 49 per cent, females.
- At
present, the Government, with financial assistance from UNICEF, provides a
Coordinator of Early Childhood Education who is responsible
for the supervision
of pre-schools. She assists also with the training of teachers and the
operation of a resource centre. Personnel
in the field of Early Childhood
Education - proprietors of pre-schools, teachers and resource persons - are
100 per cent female.
2. Primary schools
- The
pupils at this level are aged 5-12 years. Over the years, there has been
virtually 100 per cent enrolment of this age cohort
in primary
schools. In the 1994/1995 school year, there were 12,059 students enrolled in
primary schools. Of that total, 6,441
were males and 5,618 females: a
ratio of 53.4 per cent males to 46.6 per cent females. The disparity in male
and female enrolment
figures is 6.8 per cent in favour of males.
- Currently,
the Government owns 30 primary schools, and a further 24 are
privately owned and operated. Together, in the school year
1999/2000, they
had an
enrolment of 13,025 children: 6,778, or 52 per cent males, and
6,247, or 48 per cent females - a disparity of 4 per cent. This disparity
is
less than the disparity of 6.8 per cent observed
in 1994/1995. These gender
disparities in the enrolment figures are greater than would be expected even
when the slight advantage
males have in numbers at birth is taken into account.
(This advantage was reflected in the enrolment figures for pre-schools.)
However, the gender disparities in primary school enrolment may be explained
more adequately by pointing to the fact that more girls
than boys leave primary
school for secondary school at an earlier age.
- Primary
schools are organized into one or two infant/kindergarten classes and six
grades. When they have progressed to Grade 6, usually
at age 11 or 12, all
students in the system are entitled to write the Primary School Examination.
Successful candidates are awarded
scholarships to one or other of the nine
government-owned secondary schools at which tuition and books are free.
- Approximately
45 per cent of primary school pupils who write the Primary School Examination
every year fail to advance to the free
government secondary schools.
Unsuccessful candidates have two options: they can either enrol in privatelyrun
secondary schools
of which there are five at present, or they can attend one of
several Government-run post-primary or allage schools.
3. Post-primary or all-age schools
- The
Post-Primary Divisions of the all-age schools cater for those students who have
failed to gain entry into secondary schools.
The Post-Primary Divisions are
organized into three grades - Senior grades 1, 2 and 3. At the end of the
Senior 3 grade, students
write the post-primary examination. If they are
successful, they are given another opportunity to enter a Government-run
secondary
school at the level of Form III.
4. Secondary schools
- Most
children enter secondary school at age 12 years but a small percentage of
children do so at age 11 or as young as 10 years - the minimum age for
entry. They remain there until 17 years on average, passing
through five forms.
In Form V, students sit for the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC)
examinations in a number of subjects. The
schools also give school-leaving
certificates.
- In
the 1994/1995 school year, all 14 secondary schools in the country
(9
governmentowned and 5 privately owned) had a total enrolment of 4,646
students - 2,084, or 44.9 per cent, males and 2,562, or 55.1
per
cent, females. At this level, it can be seen that females far outnumber males:
by as much as 10.2 per cent in the school year
1994/1995.
Over the last two
decades or so, females have tended to gain more places than males in secondary
schools, entry to which is based
on the results of the Primary School
Examination mentioned above.
- In
1999/2000, of the total number of 5,318 children enrolled in the 13 secondary
schools, 2,304, or 43.3 per cent, were male and 3,014, or 56.7 per cent,
were female. The
great gender disparities in enrolment figures which favour
girls - disparities of 10.2 per cent
in 1994/1995 and 13.4 per cent in
1999/2000 - can be attributed to two well-known factors: firstly, as
mentioned above, more girls
enter secondary school than boys and secondly, more
boys drop out of secondary schools than girls. It was not possible to obtain
attrition rates in secondary schools because few studies, if any, have been done
on this problem.
5. Tertiary level institutions
- The
Antigua State College is the oldest governmentowned tertiary level institution
that caters for older children. The Antigua State
College is organized into
eight departments that enrol students in a variety of programmes, namely,
teacher training, engineering,
commerce, nursing, pharmacy, business,
advanced-level certification and university undergraduate programmes up to the
second year
(on behalf of the University of the West Indies). Tuition at the
college is highly subsidized. Students pay nominal fees to cover
the costs of
books and equipment.
- The
1999/2000 enrolment at the College was 866 students: 287 males and 579 females,
a ratio of 33 per cent to 67 per cent. This
great disparity in the enrolment
figures by gender is cause for some concern as it indicates a growing trend -
the failure of male
children to seek further education at the tertiary
level.
- Another
special area of concern is that there is a marked gender bias in the choice of
areas of study. Over the years, the “traditionally
male” field
of engineering has shown consistently higher levels of enrolment for males than
for females. For instance, in
the 1993/1994 academic year, in
the Engineering Department, males outnumbered females by far: 111 to 6.
Thus, males constituted
95 per cent of the enrolment figures. In
1999/2000,
male enrolment was 99 per cent of the total. (Of the 101
students enrolled in the latter year,
only 1 was female.)
- Following
a similar gender bias, the Commerce Department tends to attract more
females than males. In the 1993/1994 academic year,
of the 238 students
enrolled in the Commercial Department, 196, or 82.4 per cent, were female
and only 42, or 17.6 per cent, were
male. Of the 264 students enrolled in
this Department in 1999/2000, 212, or 80.3 per cent, were female and only 52, or
19.7 per
cent, were male.
- Similarly,
given the fact that females are in the majority in the teaching profession,
the numbers enrolled in the Department of Teacher Training reflect this
bias. In
the 1993/1994 session, there were 52 teachers enrolled in this
Department for in-service
training. Of that number, 37, or 71.2 per cent, were female and 15, or 28.8
per cent, were
male. By 1999/2000, the proportion of females to males in
teacher training had increased by over 10 per cent. In that year, 32,
or
82.1 per cent, of the teachers were female and only 7,
or 17.9 per
cent, were male.
- There
is no prejudice against male teachers (except perhaps at the pre-school level),
but males have deserted the teaching profession.
This is a trend that is not
peculiar to either Antigua and Barbuda or the Caribbean region. It is a trend
that is visible worldwide.
- There
are two other tertiary level institutions that have been established to meet the
needs of older children who have left school.
Since these are in the field of
technical/vocational education, they will be discussed below under that heading.
(The School of
Continuing Studies of the University of the West Indies, another
tertiary institution, focuses on adult learners only.)
D. Technical and vocational education and training
- Technical/vocational
training is available to all school children at three levels: postprimary,
secondary and tertiary.
- At
the post-primary level, there is a National Technical Training Centre, centrally
located in the city to which students in the Senior
Grades 1, 2 and 3 of
post-primary schools go on a dayrelease programme. This technical/vocational
centre is fully equipped to teach
subjects such as plumbing, welding, woodwork,
technical drawing, arts and crafts and home economics, to mention just some of
the
subjects that are taught there. In addition, the Irene B. Williams School,
located in a rural area, functions in a similar manner
for technical and
vocational instruction. This school draws post-primary students from the
surrounding schools on dayrelease.
- In
addition to the more traditional subjects in the fields of the arts and
sciences, most of the secondary schools offer some technical/vocational
subjects
in their curricula, for example, information technology, typing, food and
nutrition, agricultural science, building technology,
office procedures and the
like. They present candidates in these subjects for certification at
the CXC examinations.
- At
the tertiary level, the Government has also established The Antigua and Barbuda
Hospitality Training Institute (formerly called
the Hotel Training School).
Founded in 1981, this Institute trains students to enter the hospitality
industry. Students get certification
through sitting the London City and Guilds
examinations.
- Up
until 1997, the Institute had annual enrolment figures of close to 100 students.
However, it is currently upgrading and expanding
its programmes (and physical
plant) in order to be more responsive to the needs of the local hospitality
industry. In 1999, the
year when the Institute last admitted students, it
trained approximately 35 students. The Institute will reopen its doors to
students
in the 2002/2003 academic year.
- In
1997, the Government created the Free Zone Institute of Training and Technology.
It had a mandate at that time “to effect
100 per cent computer literacy of
the island’s labour force within a fiveyear period”. By the year
2000, the institute
had trained over 2,000 persons in programmes of six to eight
weeks’ duration. The success of this initiative has prompted
the
Government to expand the Institute into a fulltime facility offering specific
programmes for careers in the field of computers
and information technology.
The Institute, renamed The Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of
Technology, opened its doors
to students in October 2001. Its aims,
inter alia, are:
(a) To train personnel to develop
information technology products for international consumption;
(b) To provide essential information technology training in order to
positively impact the economic and social development of Antigua
and
Barbuda;
(c) To effectively meet the growing demand for information technology
education at all levels;
(d) To increase the knowledge and use of technology in teaching;
(e) To increase awareness of and access to training options available on the
World Wide Web.
- The
Institute thus aims at providing more advanced training, certification and
accreditation for persons in the specified fields.
Response to this initiative
has been very positive so far.
- The
Youth Skills Training Programme of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Empowerment
is a novel experiment that was inaugurated by
the Government in 1985 to train
school leavers and school dropouts who had little or no certification. The
programme aimed at training
youths to acquire practical skills in areas such as
masonry, carpentry, the electrical and auto mechanical fields, welding and so
on. Over the years, new subjects such as English and mathematics, art and
crafts, cosmetology and clothing design have been added
to the list of
offerings. Students may sit for the London City and Guild examinations and/or
the CXC examinations. The students
are given a small stipend every week
for transportation.
- The
programme has been a tremendous success. It trains on an average
some 300 students every year, although applications far exceed
the
number of intakes.
In the year 2000, hundreds of permits were granted to
successful trainees to practise their skills.
- In
addition to establishing the Technical Institute referred to above, very
recently, the Government undertook another special initiative
in
technical/vocational education. In September 2001, the Valley High School
was opened as a pilot TVET - Technical and Vocational
Education Training
project. The main aim of establishing the school is to provide more access to
secondary level education for post-primary
students, as more than half of them
do not have access to secondary education.
- Students
will be exposed to an integrated curriculum that offers both
technical/vocational subjects as well as the more traditional
“grammar-school” type subjects. The first intake numbered about 320
students. They will spend three years at this centre
of excellence and then go
on to further study at the Youth Skills Training Programme, the Hospitality
Training Institute or the Antigua
State College.
E. Guidance and counselling programmes
- The
Government of Antigua and Barbuda is committed to a CARICOM multi-agency
initiative called, “The Health and Family Life
Education Project”
(HFLE). This project has stated aims and objectives that are consistent with
those of the Convention.
The aims are, among others:
(a) To
improve the education and skills of children and young people in order that they
develop to their full capacities;
(b) To (ensure) that they live and work in dignity;
(c) To improve the quality of their lives so that they can contribute to
national development.
- At
present, HFLE programmes are taught in some primary and secondary schools. The
Health Education Unit of the Ministry of Health
and Social Improvement has been
at the forefront of teaching HFLE to the children and youth of the nation. Over
the years they have
organized peer counselling programmes for children
(teenagers especially) and parenting workshops. They are currently in 13
primary
schools teaching HFLE. The Antigua State College has also instituted a
programme in guidance and counselling for its teachers in
training.
- In
addition, since 1989, the extensive training of teachers, nurses, community
workers and other personnel in HFLE has been undertaken
by the University of the
West Indies Outreach Programmes at the University Centre in Antigua. Training
is also done at the main
campus in Jamaica.
- Guidance
and counselling are also currently available to students at three of the nine
government secondary schools. Trained counsellors,
who are part of the staff at
these schools, offer their services on a daily basis. It is envisioned
that with the implementation
of the CARICOM HFLE initiative, such programmes
will be a part of the established curricula of all schools by the
year 2002. The
Government is currently holding discussions to determine
just how such programmes can be sustained in all schools.
F. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities (art.
31)
- There
are no local laws that address article 31 of the Convention. However, it is
stated in the Draft Education Policy Document of
1994 that “the visual and
creative arts as well as a properly developed sports programme will be
cultivated and made an integral
part of the education of all children”.
- Generally,
the nation’s children enjoy their time away from school as only a
relatively small proportion of them are engaged
in activities that curtail their
leisure time. Traditionally, older siblings help to look after younger ones,
but it is only in
a few cases that such help is abused.
- Well
over a third of the nation’s households have television sets. Thus, like
much of the developed world, the nation’s
children spend a great deal of
time watching television. The vast majority of the programmes that are
available come via North American
cable networks.
- In
keeping with the stated policy on education outlined above, all schools have
organized sports and games, some of which take place
during school hours. Most
schools have an annual Sports Day when the children who have been training for
some weeks compete against
each other. Also, the Ministry of Youth Empowerment,
Sports, Carnival and Community Development has a Sports and Games Department
which is responsible for establishing sports programmes in government schools.
Such programmes include league matches and competitions
for team sports like
netball, cricket, football and basketball. The private schools, as well, have
viable sports programmes especially
at the secondary level. Thus, the majority
of children in the nation - of both sexes and all ages - participate in
ageappropriate
sports.
- The
Department of Culture in the Ministry of Education, Culture and Technology has,
for the past 12 years, instituted a summer cultural
programme for children
between the ages of 5 and 15 years. On an average, 120-150 children
attend the camp each year. They participate
in cultural activities such as
choral speaking, storytelling, steelband playing, art and crafts, music and
drama. Special emphasis
is placed on the appreciation of Caribbean art forms
and on inculcating a love of these in the future bearers of the nation’s
culture.
- The
Alliance for Social Well-being, mentioned in section IV-B above, is a
governmental organization that focuses on the youth of the
nation. It has
several major aims among which are the following:
(a) To provide
remedial measures for many of the identifiable social ills in the society of
Antigua and Barbuda, particularly as
these relate to the youths of the
nation;
(b) To mobilize several groups, particularly youth groups in Antigua and
Barbuda, into a positive force for combating the involvement
of youths in
anti-social behaviour;
(c) To ensure that there exists in the community opportunities sufficient to
occupy youths in constructive activities and to teach
them to use leisure time
profitably;
(d) To ensure that at different points in their upbringing, youths
participate in activities to enable them to learn in a practical
and realistic
manner to develop civic pride.
- A
critical, specific, stated objective is “to ensure that recreational
programmes are provided to enable a wide crosssection
of youths to participate
in them, and that adequate coaching and training are available”. This
objective has been met over
the seven-year period, 1994 to 2000, through
the hosting of a summer camp. The seven residential camps that have been
held so far
have accumulated a total of 525 participants, ranging in age from 10
to 18 years. The general focus is on education, sports and civic training.
G. Concluding comments
- Antigua
and Barbuda has a cadre of competent teachers who impact positively on the lives
of the children of the nation. Schools are
overwhelmingly safe places for our
children who enjoy 100 per cent access to free primary
education.
- In
terms of policies and practices in education, local laws meet many of the
requirements set by the Convention. Progress is ongoing
towards compliance with
those areas of concern that fall short of the Convention’s guidelines. In
this regard, mention must
be made of ongoing public debate in the media on the
use of corporal punishment in schools. Public opinion is divided sharply on
this issue.
- Of
particular concern is the limited access to secondary education. The Government
recognizes that more secondary schools need to
be built in order to provide more
school spaces at that level. A number of initiatives undertaken by the
Government in recent years
to rectify this problem have been stalemated because
of the lack of funds. However, it is heartening to mention once again the
opening
in 2001 of a new school - the Valley High - which is slated to be
developed into a secondary school with a focus on technical/vocational
education.
- The
need to provide more opportunities for school dropouts to complete their formal
education has been addressed by a Ministry of
Education initiative called
“The Golden Opportunity Programme”. This programme was started in
1993 with an enrolment
of 109 students: 99 females and just 10
males. The programme continues with classes being held in the afternoons in the
subject
areas of mathematics, English and health and family life education, but
only a fraction of the potential cadre of school dropouts
take advantage of this
initiative.
- As
can be seen from the statistics quoted above pertaining to the enrolment of
school dropouts in the Golden Opportunity Programme,
the great majority of those
enrolled are female. This can be accounted for by the fact that some girls are
forced to leave school
because of pregnancy. Male students who are fathers
generally are not pressured to leave school. There is, however, a growing
consensus
among educators that young girls who leave school because of pregnancy
must be encouraged not to drop out of school. There are no
laws which state
that they must leave school. Indeed, the Constitution and the Education Act
both affirm the right of all children to an education. But societal pressure is
generally against pregnant girls staying in school.
However, several
women’s organizations have highlighted this problem and are waging a
campaign aimed at convincing the public
that the best interests of teenage
mothers, and indeed the whole society, will be served by their continuing to
remain in school.
They argue that the nation cannot afford to lose valuable
human resources that it has invested so much in for so many years.
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
A. Children in emergency situations (arts. 22, 38 and
39)
- With
reference to articles 22 and 38 of the Convention, there are no legislative,
administrative or judicial measures in place to
deal with issues relating to
children in emergency situations such as becoming refugees or being engaged in
armed conflict.
- Antigua
and Barbuda is party to two international instruments pertaining to refugees.
These are the Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees of 1951 and the
Protocol relating
to the Status of Refugees of 1967. Under the
Rectification of Treaties Act of 1987, the Government ratified the Convention
and the
Protocol in April 1995.
- To
date, only a few persons have sought asylum in Antigua and Barbuda and no
children were involved. The Government has not engaged
in any wars since the
country became independent of Britain in 1981.
- With
respect to the issue of children who are forced to engage in armed conflict, it
is useful to point out here that persons cannot
join the Royal Police Force of
Antigua and Barbuda or the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force until they have
attained the age of 18
years.
B. Children in conflict with the law (arts. 37, 39 and
40)
- There
are two main statutes that deal with children in conflict with the law:
(a) The Juvenile Act, Cap. 229, of 1951;
(b) The Juvenile Courts Act, Cap. 255, of 1948.
- It
will be recalled that the Juvenile Act of 1951 defines a juvenile as a person
under the age of 16 years. Section 3 of the Act
also states that no person
under the age of 8 years shall be guilty of an offence. Thus, the minimum
age for criminal responsibility
of a child is 8 years.
- Section
2 of the Juvenile Court Act establishes the Juvenile Court. The Act
specifically provides for juvenile courts in all the
magisterial Districts of
Antigua and Barbuda. The same section of this Act also states that
“juvenile courts are to be held
elsewhere than in the building used as
Magistrate Court”. However, because there are no other buildings that
have been designated
as juvenile courts, the latter are held in the same
building and courtrooms as adult courts. Thus, current practice is in
contravention
of the letter of the law.
- One
special area of concern of this Act is to ensure that the public is excluded
from juvenile courts. Only members and officers
of the court, the parties to
the case and their attorneys can attend. Other persons can attend only with the
leave of the court.
- The
Act also provides that, when adjudicating juvenile cases, magistrates can sit on
their own or with assessors (persons nominated
by the Governor-General). But
the general practice is for magistrates to sit in court on their own.
- Section
43 of the Juvenile Court Act provides that all crimes committed by juveniles are
to be heard by the Juvenile Court except
homicide. However, if a juvenile is
charged with an adult for a homicide, the Magistrate may, if it is in the
interests of justice,
try the juvenile as an adult. Section 43 also states that
if a juvenile is jointly charged with an adult for an indictable matter,
the
court has a discretion, depending on the particular circumstances of the case,
to either deal with the juvenile separately or
send the juvenile to trial with
the adult.
- The
table below gives the numbers and types of crimes committed by juveniles for the
period 1993-2000.
Table 6
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
Total number of matters filed
|
36
|
43
|
56
|
84
|
20
|
14
|
46
|
26
|
Drug matters/offences
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
5
|
1
|
Sexual offences
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
Firearm offences
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Unlawful wounding
|
3
|
5
|
3
|
7
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
1
|
Grievous bodily harm
|
5
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
Other (theft mainly)
|
24
|
37
|
51
|
69
|
16
|
7
|
31
|
22
|
Source: Records from the Magistrate’s Court Juvenile Record
Books 1993-2000.
- It
must be noted that the high incidence of juvenile matters filed for the period
1994-1996 is due mainly to the difference in the
recording of care and
protection matters during this period. It can be seen from the table above that
most of the offences juveniles
were charged with are theft and related matters.
- When
the statistics on juvenile matters are viewed from a gender perspective, they
indicate that the majority of juvenile offenders
are males. In the period under
review, males committed almost all of the drug offences. The exception is the
year 1998 when two
females and one male were charged with such offences. Again,
males committed all of the sexual offences - ranging from “indecent
assault” to “unlawful carnal knowledge”. In 1995, the one
firearm offence involved a male and in 1999, two females
were charged with
“unlawful wounding”.
C. Children deprived of their liberty, including any form of
detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial settings
(art. 37,
paras. (b), (c) and (d))
- Section
15 of the Juvenile Act states that the Commissioner of Police should keep
juveniles separate from adults if they are being
detained in a police station,
or being conveyed to or from a criminal court. Basically, they should be kept
from associating with
any adult who has been charged with a criminal offence
other than an adult with whom the juvenile is jointly charged.
- The
police have discretionary powers to release juveniles who cannot be brought
before the court expeditiously into the care of the
parent or guardian or
against payment of a recognizance for such amount as the officer deems necessary
to secure the juvenile’s
attendance at court. But, according to section
16 of this Act, this right is denied if the charge is homicide or
- other
grave crime. Similarly, it is denied if it is in the juvenile’s interest
to remove him from association with any reputed criminal or prostitute or
the officer believes the release would defeat the ends of justice. In such
instances, the juvenile
should be placed in a place of safety until he can be
brought before the court.
- Section
7 of this same Act goes on to state that if a juvenile who is charged with a
criminal offence is not admitted to bail, then
he will be committed to custody
in a place of safety named in the commitment. However, if the court rules that
the juvenile is of
such an unruly character that he cannot be safely committed,
or is so depraved a character that he cannot be detained, the juvenile
may be
committed to any place of safety, including a prison. However, committal to
prison rarely happens.
- Thus,
it can be seen from the instances stated above that under the laws of Antigua
and Barbuda, a juvenile can be deprived of his
or her liberty.
D. The sentencing of juveniles (art. 37, para. (a))
- Provisions
for the sentencing of juveniles are set out in the Juvenile Act of 1951. When a
juvenile has been found guilty of an offence,
the juvenile can be dealt with in
any one of the following ways:
(a) The juvenile can be reprimanded
and discharged;
(b) The court may order a fine, a financial penalty, to be paid by the
parent or guardian;
(c) The juvenile may be placed on probation for a period of up to three
years;
(d) An absolute discharge may be granted;
(e) A conditional discharge may be granted;
(f) The juvenile may be committed to the Boys’ Training School.
(This Borstal-type institution is for boys only. There is
no equivalent
facility for girls.);
(g) The male juvenile may be whipped. (This practice was discussed more
fully earlier on in section IV-G.)
E. Physical and psychological recovery and social integration
(art. 39)
- The
State recognizes that there is a need for children who are faced with difficult
circumstances to be counselled and rehabilitated
so that they can be restored to
full emotional and physical health and grow up to be useful citizens of the
society.
- The
Boys’ Training School is a Borstal-type institution that was established
under the Training Schools Act of 1891. It serves
as a rehabilitation centre
for boys who come in conflict with the law. However, as there is no separate
home for abused, neglected
or abandoned boys, they, too, are detained at the
Boys’ Training School. Indeed, section 10 of the Training Schools Act
states
that a Magistrate can order a neglected child to be taken to a training
school. Similarly, under section 11, a “young vagabond”,
a person
under the apparent age of 16 years who “is found wandering about without
having any fixed abode or any visible means
of support ...” may also
be ordered to such a school.
- Currently,
the residents at the Boys’ Training School number some 30 boys, ranging in
age from 10 to 17 years. Of that total,
9 are in the age group 10-13; 20
are in the age group 1416 years, and 1 is 17 years old.
- Of
the 30 boys being detained, 22 have been sentenced and committed to the
institution and 8 are on remand. But the reasons why the
boys have been
detained are not criminal for the most part. The majority of boys, 15 in
number, are there because they need “care
and protection” and
another because he habitually refuses to attend school. Of the 14 others who
have been charged with criminal
offences, 8 have been detained for
“larceny”, 3 for “breaking and entering”, and 1 each for
“wounding
with intent”, “assault with the intent to rob”
and “misuse of drugs”.
- The
school is very well staffed with three senior management staff (including a
counsellor), seven supervisors, one remedial teacher
and one teacher’s
aide and eight ancillary staff (including washers, cooks, a gardener and a
driver).
- All
of the boys, except for five, are attending school or are involved in some type
of vocational training. In addition to formal
education, there is ongoing
counselling for the boys. They also engage in agriculture in the school
compound and sporting activities
among themselves and with the children from the
schools nearby. Various community groups, service clubs and church
organizations
visit the boys regularly, holding sessions and discussions of
various kinds on current issues and problems facing the boys.
- There
is no equivalent governmental institution for girls who come in conflict with
the law or who need to be removed from situations
of abuse, neglect or other
forms of violence. As was discussed in section V-E above, two NGO institutions,
the Sunshine Home for
Girls and the Good Shepherd Home for Girls, assist the
Government by housing girls who need to be detained legally. It was noted
also
in section VI-D above that there is an excellent NGO called the Coordinating
Committee for the Promotion of Emotional Health
in Children (CCOPE), that
functions on behalf of children with emotional problems. Although it receives
some financial help from
the Government, it relies heavily on volunteers to help
in its work of rehabilitation of children and their families.
F. Concluding comments
- The
number of juveniles who come in conflict with the law is still relatively
small. The statistics on juvenile offences revealed that, to date, most
of the offences with which juveniles are charged relate to stealing.
When they are charged, there are local laws on the books that do offer them
some protection of their right to be treated as young
offenders. Of
special interest is the local law that calls for the instituting of a separate
building in which to hear juvenile matters. This law is yet to be
implemented.
- When
the laws that pertain to the sentencing of juveniles are examined, it is seen
that there is at least one punishment that is on
the books which contravenes the
provisions of the Convention. The reference is to the possibility of sentencing
a male juvenile
to be whipped. As has been mentioned above, however,
this practice is no longer enforced.
- Similarly,
the Training Schools Act of 1891 that set up the Boys’ Training School is
archaic. There is also an urgent need
for the establishment of separate and
adequate facilities to cater for boys who are neglected or abandoned.
IX. CHILDREN IN SITUATIONS OF EXPLOITATION
A. Economic exploitation (art. 32)
- There
are two particular laws in the State that protect children from economic
exploitation. They are:
(a) The Education Act, No. 7 of
1973, section 6;
(b) The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code, Division E, of 1975.
- The
Education Act provides a minimum age of 16 years for a child to remain in
school. The Act further states that no person who is of the compulsory
school
age is to be employed during school hours. This law is strictly enforced. Thus
the overwhelming majority of children who
should be in school are indeed in
school. Some children do work after school hours in supermarkets packing
groceries and the like,
but their numbers are very small and management curtails
their hours of work.
- Under
the Labour Code, Division E (which deals with the employment of women, young
persons and children), a “child” is
defined as a person under the
age of 14 years. (However, as noted above, the compulsory school age is up to
16 years.) Division
E of the said Code provides that no child shall be employed
in a public or private or industrial undertaking or on any ship. Exceptions
are
provided for family ventures where only members of the same family work. A
child, even in family ventures, may not work during
school hours or for periods
in excess of 8 hours in a 24-hour period, or at night, or more than 30
hours in a 186-hour period. Manual
labour as part of reform school discipline
is expressly excluded from the provisions of the Labour Code.
- In
addition, the Labour Code, Division E, also protects older children from
economic exploitation. It addresses the issue of the
conditions under which
young persons can work. A “young person” is defined as a person
between 14 and 18 years, but
it notes that no young person between the ages of
14 and 16 can be employed during school hours.
- Under
the said Labour Code, Division E, young persons can be employed only if found
fit for the particular type of work after a thorough
examination by a qualified
medical practitioner. Thereafter, the employment is subject to medical
supervision. Fines for the relevant
offences are 100 dollars, local currency.
- It
is also pertinent to assert that, given the nature of the country’s
economy to date, there are few opportunities for children
to be exploited
economically. The country’s major industry - tourism - employs adults
only. Also, the level of factory industrialization
is low and no children are
at present employed in the few factories that exist.
B. Drug abuse (art. 33)
- The
Misuse of Drugs Act, Cap. 283, and the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act of 1973
prohibit the sale, use and trafficking in controlled substances such as
marijuana (cannabis), cocaine, heroin and crack and other narcotic and
psychotropic drugs. The law, however, is silent on how these
prohibitions might
apply to children. However, section 9 of the law offers schoolchildren some
protection from drug traffickers
who attempt to ply their drugs on school
premises. The law states that any person who is found in possession of any
controlled drugs
in any school premises “is deemed to have the controlled
drug for the purposes of drug trafficking, unless the contrary is
proved, the
burden of proof being on the accused”. The term “school
premises” includes not only the physical buildings
of a school, but the
playing fields as well.
- The
law does address the issue of children being involved in the sale and use of
intoxicating liquor. Specifically, the law makes
it an offence for anyone over
the age of 17 years to give or cause to give or sell to a child under the age of
10 years any intoxicating
liquor. The only exception to this is if it is done
on the order of a medical practitioner. Various fines and lengths of
imprisonment
are stipulated for drug offences.
- The
Government has instituted a number of programmes and initiatives to eradicate
the trafficking and illicit use of drugs in the
country. In 1989, a National
Drug Information Centre was set up to raise public awareness of the harmful
effects of drug use and
to offer counselling and referrals for treatment. The
Centre should have a complement of at least eight staff members, but currently
is operating with only four persons.
- The
Centre has an outreach programme to schools where lectures and discussions are
held regularly with students. It also organizes
an annual summer camp for about
140 secondary school children (10 from each of the 14 secondary schools). The
youths are trained
as peer counsellors to heighten the awareness of their peers
of the dangers of drug use.
- In
1996, the Government began a further initiative to wage a war on drugs by
establishing an Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP). The National
Drug Control Policy has as a major aim the reformation of existing laws and the
creation of new ones to enhance
the capabilities and practices of law
enforcement agencies to fight the war on drugs (and money laundering) in the
country. There
are ongoing initiatives to do just this. A Special
Adviser/Director of ONDCP has been appointed. The Office is currently working
on a National Drug Demand Reduction strategy that includes new legislation and
programmes aimed at reducing the demand for drugs
in the country.
- An
NGO called The Crossroads Rehabilitation Centre was established as a drug
rehabilitation centre in 1998. The Centre is international
in scope, but it
offers a number of places at greatly reduced rates to local persons who need
rehabilitation. The Centre, however,
caters only for persons over the age of 18
years.
- Education
for children on the harmful effects of drugs of all kinds is a crucial part of
the curriculum of the Health and Family Life
Education (HFLE) instruction that
takes place in many schools. In addition, a drug-awareness programme, the DARE
programme - “Drug
Awareness, Resistance, Education” (which was
started in Los Angeles, United States of America, in 1983) was introduced in
Antigua
in January 1997. Officers of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and
Barbuda, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, took
the programme to
four primary schools initially. Today, the programme is in 20 schools.
- There
is no doubt that substance abuse occurs among the nation’s children. Some
underage drinking takes place, especially during
the Carnival festival. The
problem is not so widespread at present, but there are indications that it is
growing. Recently, there
have been reports coming out of the smaller island of
Barbuda that some teenagers have been caught drinking alcohol on several
occasions.
- The
Social Welfare Division of the Ministry of Health and Social Improvement
conducted a survey in 1991 (published in 1992) on the
use of drugs among
children. The survey carried out on “Youth Alcohol and Other Drugs”
found that 52 per cent of the
1,951 respondents claimed to have experimented
with some type of alcoholic beverage while still in their teens.
A very
recent study conducted in 2000 (the findings of which were made available in
September 2001) show an increase in the use of
alcoholic beverages by the
nation’s children. Sixty-one per cent of the 1,714 respondents (aged
11-19 years) said they had
drunk some type of alcoholic beverage. The average
age when they first started to do so was approximately12 years.
- Both
surveys found some use of other drugs such as crack, cocaine and marijuana among
the nation’s children. But by far the
most abused substance in the 1991
study was marijuana, mainly among children aged 15-18. However, in the more
recent study done
in 2000, the youth reported that crack was the most popular
drug “ever used”. Thus, there has been a significant shift
in drug
use among the nation’s children from marijuana to crack.
- It
is well known that in the last two decades, there has been a tremendous increase
in the number of incidences of the use and trafficking
of “hard”
drugs such as crack, cocaine and, to a lesser extent, heroin. As North America
and other countries in the
region embarked on measures to curtail the
trafficking of drugs, the trans-shipment of drugs through islands like Antigua
and Barbuda
has definitely increased. So, too, has the amount of drugs that
remain behind which are available for illicit use by the local
population.
- As
was indicated by the two national surveys discussed above, some children are
involved in the use and trade in illicit drugs. However,
only a few cases of
any type of drug offence involving children have been brought to the attention
of the courts. As was seen in
table 6 above, between 1993 and 2000, only
14 juveniles had such cases filed against them. Of that total, only two were
females.
Only one such offence was recorded in 2000.
C. Sexual exploitation (art. 34)
- The
Sexual Offences Act of 1995 addresses all forms of sexual exploitation of
persons, including minors. Section 21 of the Act prohibits
any form of
prostitution in Antigua and Barbuda. The Act also specifically addresses the
issue of procurement involving a minor.
Section 16 states that “a person
who procures a minor under 16 years of age to have sexual intercourse with any
person either
in Antigua and Barbuda or elsewhere is guilty of an offence and is
liable to imprisonment for 15 years”. In addition, section
18 states that
it is an offence to detain another for sexual purposes against his or her will
in any brothel or other premises.
Thus, the rights of the child against all
forms of sexual exploitation are fully protected in law.
D. Sale, trafficking and abduction (art. 35)
- The
Offences Against the Person Act, Cap. 58, offers some protection to the child in
the event of sale, trafficking and abduction.
Section 51 of this Act provides
penalties for “child stealing”, a child being defined as a person
under the age of 14
years. Section 50 of the same Act makes it an offence to
abduct a girl under16 years of age against the wishes of her parents.
There is
no mention of males with respect to the offence of abduction. The law is,
therefore, deficient in this regard. The offence
of kidnapping is also
prohibited in section 62 of the same Act.
E. Other forms of exploitation (art. 36)
- Other
than those laws mentioned above that protect the child from economic
exploitation and sexual exploitation, there are no other
local laws that protect
the child from other forms of exploitation prejudicial to any aspect of the
child’s welfare.
F. Concluding comments
- From
the foregoing, it can be safely concluded that with respect to the protection of
children from all forms of economic exploitation,
local laws and practices meet
the guidelines of the Convention.
- Reviewing
the local situation in relation to article 33 of the Convention, it must be said
that the consumption of alcoholic beverages
as “social drinking” is
common in the country. Persons who drink heavily are stigmatized only when they
become so addicted
that they hang around “rum shops” all day and
night. Thus, there is the danger that a high level of tolerance of
drinking alcoholic beverages might be transmitted to children. But as
was pointed out earlier on, although there is some under-age drinking, this has
not yet become a critical social problem.
Measures will be put in place to
ensure that this situation does not change for the worse.
- There
is also a need for the laws to be tightened with respect to the sale and use of
all kinds of illicit drugs by children. The
laws of Antigua and Barbuda make no
mention of the involvement of children between the ages of 10 and 18 years in
the use and sale
of drugs other than alcohol. Clearly, the local laws
are deficient in this respect.
- In
a series of interviews related to the National Drug Use Survey conducted in
2000, members of the clergy were asked to comment on
the drug problem among
children in the nation. Most of the responses corroborated the findings
of the survey that drug use and trafficking in drugs among the nation’s
children
is increasing. The Government regards this escalation as cause for
serious concern - concern that is in the forefront of policies
and activities of
the National Drug Information Centre.
- The
initiatives that have been undertaken by government agencies to deal with this
problem were reported on above. Several NGOs have
also joined in the national
effort to curb this threat against the survival and development of the
nation’s children. Many
churches in the country claim that they do
address the issue of drug use among children in their youth groups and
organizations.
However, church leaders in the 2000 survey on drugs discussed
above are unanimous in their desire to see more programmes initiated
in schools
and in the media that are targeted directly at children.
- The
recently revised laws pertaining to sexual offences do offer children legal
protection against sexual abuse and exploitation.
In addition, there are
several agencies that offer care and counselling to children who are exploited
sexually or in any other way.
X. CHILDREN OF MINORITY OR INDIGENOUS GROUPS
- For
centuries, there have been no indigenous peoples left in Antigua and Barbuda.
Immigrants and their children are here identified
as minority groups because
they form recognizably distinct groups in the society. They are easily
recognized for the most part by
their different accents or by their language.
Under the Constitution, immigrants enjoy the same basic rights and freedoms as
citizens, subject to the constraints imposed by the immigration laws of the
country.
- In
the last decade, in keeping with agreements of the regional Caribbean Economic
Community - CARICOM, the Government of Antigua and
Barbuda has allowed persons
from other CARICOM States not only to visit, but also to work in the territory.
Also, there has been
a large influx of Spanish-speaking persons from the
Dominican Republic. The presence of these so-called “economic
migrants”
is putting an increasingly tremendous pressure on all social
services, especially on health and educational services.
- Like
all other children in the country, the children of immigrants are entitled to
free medical attention and treatment at all the
government clinics and the
general hospital. They do make use of these services, but for Spanish-speaking
immigrants, the problems
of language have sometimes interfered with the quality
of care they receive. However, within the last three years, the Government
has
employed at its general hospital a number of Spanish-speaking doctors and nurses
from Cuba. For Spanish-speaking immigrants,
their presence at the hospital has
gone a long way in alleviating the problems of communicating with medical
personnel.
- With
respect to access to education, the children of immigrants do not always have
automatic placement in the free government-run
primary and secondary schools.
As was noted in section VII-B above, there is a shortage of places in the
existing schools at both
the primary and secondary levels for all children in
the country. Children of immigrants generally have to attend fee-paying schools
for at least two years before they are transferred to the free government
schools.
- Some
other initiatives have been taken by the Government and other agencies to look
after the welfare of the Spanish-speaking minority
group in particular. The
Government has appointed leaders from the Spanish community to liaise with the
Government on issues that
- concern
the community. Some churches as well have established special services for the
Spanish-speaking members of their congregations.
A number of separate churches
catering for the spiritual needs of the Spanish community have also been
started.
F. Concluding comments
- The
presence of sizeable minority groups in Antigua and Barbuda is a relatively
recent phenomenon. Up until about 15 years ago, the
population consisted mainly
of persons born within its borders. This is still the case, but significant
populations of migrants
from other Caribbean territories have altered the
profile of the local population. Distinct minority groups are now visible.
- To
date, the children of immigrants tend to be well integrated with their peers in
school settings. There does not seem to be any
discrimination in the schools
against immigrant children in general. Indeed, many “native-born”
Antiguan and Barbudan
children have been learning Spanish as they interact
closely with them in the classroom and the playing fields. However, the
segregation
of immigrants in distinct communities or sections of communities
tends to militate against their full absorption into the local culture
and
society.
- It
must be stated here that the immigrants tend to live in the poorer sections of
the city where social amenities are not as good
as they should be. Thus,
initially, the children of immigrants are not likely to have as high a standard
of health and education
as other children. But as the migrants become more
integrated into the society, they tend to move out of the poorer areas to better
ones.
XI. CONCLUDING COMMENTS AND REFORM PRIORITIES
- The
present report has attempted to describe and analyse as fully as possible the
commitment of Antigua and Barbuda to upholding the
rights of the child as
expressed in the provisions of the Convention. It is obvious from all that has
been said in the foregoing
that both the Constitution and local laws are in
compliance with many of the provisions of the Convention. The report noted,
however, that there are areas
of critical concern that still need to be
addressed.
- A
number of regional initiatives pertaining to law reform are currently in
progress. One such initiative is that of constitutional
reform. Like several
other CARICOM countries, Antigua and Barbuda is in the process of revising
its Constitution. The Constitutional Reform Committee that has been mandated by
the Government to perform this task has received submissions and
heard oral
testimonies from many stakeholders, including agencies and organizations that
deal with the welfare of children.
- Another
recent initiative is the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States/Canadian
International Development Agency (OECS/CIDA) Judicial
and Legal Reform Project.
This fiveyear project is of paramount importance to the Government’s
compliance with the provisions
of the Convention because it focuses on women and
youth. The objectives of the project are:
(a) To increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of court management;
(b) To promote better management throughout the development of a legal
educational system;
(c) To promote fairness by developing and supporting complementary
measures.
- These
complementary measures are activities directed towards developing institutional
and community capacity to enhance the quality
of justice in OECS. They
are listed as follows:
(a) Sentencing alternatives;
(b) Alternative dispute resolution;
(c) Public legal education;
(d) Legal aid;
(e) Counselling.
- A
National Consultative Meeting to discuss these matters was held in November 2001
in Antigua and Barbuda. Participants came from a wide cross-section
of civic groups, governmental agencies and NGOs. Indeed, the juvenile justice
system
was thoroughly examined in the light of the objectives of the reform
project.
- With
regard to other changes that must take place in our society with respect to the
rights of the child, it must be acknowledged
that we need, as a people, to
recognize more fully that children have inalienable rights in the same manner as
adults. To further
improve compliance with article 12 of the Convention
which deals with the principle of respect for the views of the child, the
society
will have to undergo a major shift in its social norms regarding what is
considered appropriate behaviour for children. As was noted
in the body of the
report, such norms are changing for the better, affording more recognition and
respect for the views of the child.
Governmental agencies as well as NGOs have
ongoing programmes that encourage adults to make the requisite cultural
shift.
- Attention
must be given to the need to expunge from the law books several archaic laws
inherited from Britain under the colonial system
of government. Of particular
interest is the law that permits the use of corporal punishment as a means of
discipline, especially
in schools. It must be admitted that the society in
general still approves of and condones such punishment. Therefore, there is
no
great outcry against its continued occurrence.
- However,
in keeping with the provisions of the Convention, it is heartening to note that
in recent years there has been some public
debate on the issue.
Concerned citizens who disapprove of its continued use as a form of
disciplining children have kept this debate alive.
- Another
specific area of law that needs to be addressed is that which concerns the
rights of unmarried fathers. Legislation ought
to be put in place to protect
the right of unmarried fathers to play a part in the upbringing of their
children. As the law now
stands, they can gain access to their children only if
the mothers of the children so agree.
- It
is pertinent to reiterate that the children of the nation grow up in reasonably
safe environments - both in terms of their own
family environments and that of
the wider society. Obviously, with the growing incidence of crime worldwide and
the increased movement
of
- peoples
throughout the world, such environments are not as safe as they used to be some
15 or 20 years ago. The problem of a rise
in the incidence of street
children in the country has been noted by a number of agencies devoted to the
welfare of children. This
problem is currently being tackled before it reaches
alarming proportions.
- Of
particular importance to the development of children is the need for a high
share of resources to be devoted to their health and
education. Indeed,
the Government of Antigua and Barbuda spends most of its resources in these
two areas that are crucial for the overall development
of the child. But as has
been noted in the body of the report, the percentage allocations to health and
education have not yet reached
the levels suggested by UNICEF.
- The
participants at the national consultation on the National Strategic Development
Plan for 2001-2004 opined that the Government
needs to strengthen the resource
base of the social sector. They recommended, therefore, that the Government
allocate more resources
to basic health and social services since this sector is
“imperative to the sustainability and successful implementation and
evaluation of the plan”. An effective national development plan is one
that will guarantee the successful development of the
nation’s
children.
- In
closing, the Government wishes to state that it is firmly committed to full
compliance with and implementation of the provisions
of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child in Antigua and Barbuda.
-----
[*] Available for consultation in the files
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