Minister of Social and Urban Transformation, Rawdon Turner, delivered a powerful address on the urgent need to protect the nation’s children as he reveals troubling cases of child abuse in both Antigua and in Barbuda.
He was speaking in the House of Representatives on Monday during the debate on the National Budget for Antigua and Barbuda, 2026. His presentation has been described as ‘charged with emotion and grounded in heartbreaking reality’ as it forced the country to confront an uncomfortable truth: too many children in Antigua and Barbuda are suffering in silence.
In his remarks, Minister Turner noted that he was speaking “not just as a Minister… but as a father, as a son, and as a human being”. He revealed harrowing statistics and even more disturbing personal stories of child abuse from January to September this year.
The daunting statistics are; 114 children—not numbers, not cases, but children—were victims of abuse within that short period.
- 27 sexually abused
- 50 neglected
- 22 emotionally abused
- 15 physically beaten
According to the ministry, the Ministry is currently responsible for 91 children in foster care, 12 girls at the Sunshine Home for Girls, and more than 121 referrals along with 65 active court cases involving vulnerable minors.
Most alarming of all, Minister Turner revealed that nearly 30% of these cases occur after midnight, when a child’s only hope is that someone in authority will wake up and come.
In Parliament, Minister Turner recounted three real cases that left MPs and observers visibly shaken.
He told of a little girl who walked into a police station with her grandmother, tears still drying on her face. A doctor confirmed that her stepfather had raped her. But the moment that broke the Minister’s heart was when the child asked her mother, “You believe me, right?” — and the mother replied: “No! Not my man! You lying.”
The mother later destroyed key evidence, unknowingly washing away the sheets that held the truth.
Another case involved a young boy who arrived at school bruised and starving. X-rays later revealed his arm had been broken with a 2×4 board. The child told officers he counted every blow—ninety-nine—before he passed out. Even then, he still tried to attend school.
When officers intervened, the father attacked them with a chair.
The third case involved a neighbour who called after hearing a child being beaten for three days straight. A lawyer attempted to block entry to the home. When police and social workers finally got inside, they found a small boy tied to a bed, starved and covered in ligature marks. His own father had bound him, and when he grew tired, he ordered the older brother to continue the beating.
Officers had to switch vehicles multiple times to keep the child safe. He sat trembling in an office late into the night until an officer reassured him:
“You’re safe now.”
Minister Turner acknowledged the overwhelming emotional burden his team faces:
- Social workers crying in their cars between cases
- Foster parents opening their homes without hesitation
- Officers risking their own safety to rescue children
- Staff responding to late-night calls, never knowing what they will find
Yet, despite the trauma, he highlighted a powerful truth: many survivors of abuse have grown up to become lawyers, police officers, nurses, entrepreneurs, chefs, and community leaders.
“From broken homes,” he said, “to nation builders.”
“As long as I am Minister of Social Transformation, no child in Antigua and Barbuda will cry alone.”
He reaffirmed his commitment to expanding child protection systems, strengthening interventions, and supporting the frontline heroes who keep the most vulnerable safe.
Minister Turner’s passionate appeal is being hailed as a turning point — a moment when the country could no longer look away from the silent suffering of its children.
His message was unmistakably clear: child protection is not a political issue. It is a moral duty.
And the nation must rise to meet it.
