𝐆𝐨𝐯’𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭 — 𝐀 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭

The Government’s plan to establish a dedicated forensic interview (FI) unit for child abuse victims signals a long-overdue acknowledgment of systemic gaps in the protection of vulnerable children. Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud, announced the initiative as part of a broader strategy to improve response time and access in abuse cases.

At present, forensic interviews — a critical component in securing evidence and protecting victims — are conducted by non-governmental organisations such as ChildLink and Blossoms Inc., with support from the Child Protection Agency (CPA). The State’s move to assume direct responsibility is, therefore, a welcome development.

However, while the creation of a forensic interview unit represents progress, it raises a deeper question: why has it taken this long, and why is the scope still so limited?

Forensic interviews are only one piece of a fractured system. The real deficiency lies in the absence of a fully integrated, dedicated investigative framework that follows each case from report to prosecution. As it stands, cases are passed between multiple actors — Child Protection Officers, police, medical personnel, NGOs — creating dangerous gaps where accountability can falter and critical evidence can be compromised.

A more effective model would see the establishment of a specialised investigative unit assigned to each case from the outset. That officer or team should be responsible for coordinating every stage — from securing timely medical examinations to liaising with child protection services and ensuring case files are meticulously prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Without that continuity, the system remains vulnerable to the very breakdowns the Minister herself acknowledged: inconsistent reporting, delays, and poorly prepared case files that can determine whether justice is served or denied.

Dr Persaud rightly highlighted the importance of precision in case documentation, noting that “what you write is how a case can go left or right.” Yet this only underscores the urgency of structural reform. Training alone cannot fix a system where responsibility is fragmented and diffused.

Equally concerning is the ongoing shortage of Child Protection Officers, a limitation that continues to undermine even the most well-intentioned programmes, including the Rapid Response initiative. A single officer in a region is not a solution — it is a stopgap.

The Government’s planned digital tracking system is another positive step, promising greater oversight of case progression. But tracking failures after they occur is not a substitute for preventing them through cohesive case management.

Child abuse cases demand urgency, sensitivity, and above all, consistency. Victims cannot afford a system where responsibility is shared but accountability is unclear.

There is also a growing concern about the extent of ministerial involvement in operational oversight. While accountability is critical, the system cannot function efficiently if it is being micro-managed at the political level. The Minister’s role should be to establish policy, ensure resources are in place, and conduct periodic audits to assess performance — not to track individual case movements or intervene in routine procedural matters. Effective child protection depends on empowering trained professionals to carry out their duties without undue interference, while holding them accountable through structured oversight mechanisms, not constant direct supervision.

If the Government is serious about reform, it must move beyond incremental fixes and commit to building a unified, end-to-end investigative mechanism — one that eliminates gaps, assigns clear responsibility, and ensures that no child’s case is left to drift between agencies.

Anything less risks perpetuating the very failures this new unit is intended to solve.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 592 𝙂𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣-𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 , 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮,𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙄𝙣𝙂𝙪𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨.— ✦—