Concerned citizens call for closure of Government Industrial School

After years of abuse allegations levelled against the Government Industrial School (GIS), a collection of concerned citizens is calling for the closure of the state-run juvenile detention centre.

Bearing placards and chanting refrains in support of the protection of the island’s children, the gathering embarked on a Silent Prayer Walk along Black Rock this morning to announce their efforts toward pushing the authorities to reform the juvenile justice system and bringing an end to the  reported abuse of children in state institutions.

Speaking with reporters, coordinator of the walk and spokesperson for the Women in Action group, Tempu Nefertari, says they will continue to make their voice heard until the matter is handled appropriately.

“We are saying, enough is enough. We are being very diplomatic at this stage when we are urging the minister who has primary control, we don’t want those children going back to GIS. Shut it down,” Nefertari said. 

“Institutions like that and Dodd’s where children are being abused, where there have been outcries for years, shut it down. Let’s start afresh. If you need to move these girls, if you can prepare a space for them in the female prison then you do so but you do so under certain guidelines.”

In recent months the GIS has come under increasing public pressure due to claims of improper punitive measures against its wards and which allegedly caused a number of female detainees to run away from the institution. Several children, mainly girls, are charged annually with wandering but Nefertari believes that the root cause of their action is not being dealt with.

The activist says Government needs to do all it can to ensure its citizens are well prepared to recognised what inside the house would drive a child to repeatedly wander from their home and help them deal with the situation at hand. She says until this is addressed, the cycle will persist.

Meanwhile, adding her voice to those urging the Government to amend the law on wandering, Nefertari says not enough emphasis is placed on the rehabilitation of children in the detention centres. This is why she believes many have such difficulties reintegrating into society. 

“How are you preparing these girls to be reintegrated into society? Is that even important? Even if it is three/four girls it is still important because they are eventually going to be the mothers of children and these children are going to go into society. If it is not handled right then it contributes to the sociopathic nature of our society that we are not even coming face-to-face with,” she said.