The journalist and TV presenter, who was visiting the Island to meet volunteers and fundraisers from NSPCC Jersey, said recognising the problems of the past through the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry had been a good start but support must now be thrown behind Children’s Commissioner Deborah McMillan.
Mrs McMillan was appointed to the role at the start of the year, with the creation of her post being one of the core recommendations of the inquiry.
Dame Esther, who founded children’s charity Childline in 1986, added that more needed to be done to tackle ‘extreme poverty’ in the Island, with new parents requiring greater support to spend time with their babies.
She said: ‘I did meet some abuse survivors from Haut de la Garenne and other places some years back. What horrified me was not only the stories but the fact that their voices were not being heard.
‘It was impossible for them to get the authorities to recognise the truth of what they were saying.
‘The care inquiry has been very important – you can’t solve a problem unless you recognise it but that is not the only answer.
‘The Children’s Commissioner is going to be very important. As long as she has the powers she needs, the access she needs and that whatever calls for changes she makes, then they happen, then that is going to be vitally important to improving the outlook for young people.’
Meanwhile Jacky Moon, service manager at NSPCC Jersey, added that new parents in the Island were facing ‘some major challenges’.
She said that Jersey had the ‘highest number of working mothers in Europe’ while maternity and paternity rights in the Island were only just being strengthened.
Dame Esther added: ‘One of the things people have been talking to me about Jersey is that there is a picture of this as an affluent society but there is also extreme poverty and a lot of new parents are trying to do two or three jobs and look after a new baby.
‘Childcare is very expensive and that can lead to parents seeking out illegal childcare cover.
‘That has a downside in curtailing the amount of time a child has with their parents – time is the most precious commodity.’
A recent UK survey found that one in six children had self-harmed – including around a quarter of all 14-year-old girls.
Dame Esther said that children’s mental health was one of the biggest areas of concern and that the figures were ‘no surprise’.
‘We are getting huge numbers of young people contacting Childline because they are self-harming. When I ask our counsellors “Why is this?” they all say it is because of social media.
‘Young people are comparing themselves with unrealistic pictures that they are getting off their friends and they are competing over popularity.’
