Cultural factors are determinants in child abuse in SDN
Santo Domingo.- Dominican culture keeps children and adolescents in a defenseless state in the face of abuse and mistreatment not only of fathers and mothers, but also of the environment in which they develop. This is one of the main conclusions of the investigation Child protection care in 13 marginal neighborhoods of Santo Domingo Norte, made by the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) for the Dominican Institute of Integral Development (IDDI).
The study, carried out with the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Asociación Navarra Nuevo Futuro, suggests that this situation leads to a perverse cycle of violence and abuse, in which children and adolescents grow up with a tendency to be violent adults who will respond aggressively to life's difficulties.
According to surveys by researchers César Andrés Caamaño (INTEC team director), Virginia Vallejo and Mabely Elizabeth Díaz, 67% of the 600 eighth-grade boys and girls surveyed in Santo Domingo Norte affirm that they are violently corrected. Among the main reasons why parents hit their children is because children disobey, disrespect, or do prohibited things. Other reasons were because they get bad grades or parents get drunk or high.
The issue of children and adolescents who have been abused is so delicate that there is no institution in the country that is fully responsible for working with them. The responsibilities are dispersed in multiple institutions.
"None of the entities participating in this investigation has a protocol for these cases and many of them report not knowing what to do before the events, since the staff is not adequately qualified to work them. In addition, they have a great deficiency in keeping up-to-date records and statistical reports on the services they offer and their ability to meet demand, "the study cites.
The research suggests that cases of child abuse and mistreatment are, to a certain extent, ignored by mental health professionals because they do not have the necessary resources to work with the issue.
Similar research carried out in other countries shows that a significant change has not yet been achieved in the assistentialist vision maintained by the States regarding the provision of services to children and adolescents who do not recognize the child as a full subject of rights; Individuals are seen as objects of charity.
The event was headed by Miguel J. Escala, Rector of INTEC, Julio Sánchez, Vice-Rector of Research and Liaison of INTEC and David Luther, Director of IDDI. Salvador Muñoz represented the AECID, while Leoncio Corominas represented the Asociación Navarra Nuevo Futuro.
The results were presented by César Andrés Caamaño, researcher in charge and they discussed the international situation on the subject Alberto Padilla, of the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI) and Zelided Alma de Ruiz.
The challenges and proposals to improve the Dominican child protection system from the practice of the Children and Youth Therapeutic Center (CTIJ) were explained by Peter De Wannemaeker, coordinator of the IDDI center. Ernesto Díaz, of the NGO Coalition for Children, and Ángela Caba, coordinator of INTEC's Psychology career, also spoke.
Annex: INTEC-IDDI general research report