KINGSTON, Jamaica—With the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) receiving 13,531 reports of abuse involving children in 2023/24, Opposition Spokesman on Youth and Human Rights, Isat Buchanan, has declared a “child protection emergency” in the country.

Making his maiden contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 23, Buchanan noted that 6,314 of those calls were distress calls to the 211 hotline.

“Behind the categories of sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, emotional abuse and child trafficking are real Jamaican children,” said Buchanan.