By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Chief Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Union of Teachers (BUT) President Belinda Wilson suggested Friday that a parent's complaint against an officer accused of assaulting her child may have been exaggerated, as she urged parents to distinguish between discipline and assault before making serious allegations.

Her comments came after police confirmed they are investigating an incident at EP Roberts Primary School.

A parent alleged that an officer assaulted her fourth-grade child on campus on January 28th, prompting the probe.

Mrs Wilson, however, suggested that the incident, as she understands it, involved “a little spanking” rather than a serious case of assault.

“I think that matter was really blown out of proportion,” she told reporters on the sidelines of an event Friday. “From what I heard, it was a little spanking...so I don't know any degree of assault there.”

Mrs Wilson emphasised the need for parents to distinguish between discipline and abuse, noting that corporal punishment is not the same as assault. 

She encouraged parents to consider the circumstances surrounding disciplinary actions before reacting.

“A lot of times they look at, ‘oh, you spanked to my child’, but I don't think enough emphasis is being placed on what was the purpose, what infraction, what breach, what behavior did the child have that warranted discipline, even if it wasn't corporal punishment,” she added.

Education Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin has previously called for national discussions about corporal punishment, but the government has yet to indicate whether it is considering an outright ban on the practice in schools.

A notable incident of corporal punishment occurred in March 2023, when the principal of Bimini Primary School called on a police officer to discipline several children. Parents later shared pictures with The Tribune, showing bruises on the children’s bodies after they were beaten.

On Friday, Mrs Wilson also encouraged parents to have more discussions with their children about appropriate behaviour to prevent disciplinary issues at school.

On the issue of school safety, the BUT president reiterated teachers’ concerns and frustrations, attributing the violence to a “spillover from the community.”

She highlighted that many students on campus are dealing with grief from violent incidents and stressed that there is not enough focus on providing them with proper counselling.

“Every time, just what, every time you see a murder or a violent incident on the street, there are children that are associated with that person who was killed or maimed or injured and I don’t think there’s sufficient focus on getting those children grief counselling.”