A probe will be launched to see if social welfare officials did everything possible to help a 15-year-old boy who committed suicide last week and who was experiencing serious poverty and other issues, the department said on Tuesday.

The boy, Stylianos, was found dead by his father on Thursday evening at a farm in a village in the Nicosia district.

Following reports of psychological problems and domestic violence in the boy’s family, social welfare services found themselves in hot water over whether they had handled the case properly and whether the boy’s death could have been prevented.

COMMENT

What a terrible situation, when the life of a child is lost under such tragic conditions, it is not only the family who are to blame, the burden of responsibility falls much further afield. The Social Services are ultimately responsible for ALL CHILDREN, it is their duty to monitor them at school, at home and anywhere they possibly can.

More often than not, there are indicators, with teachers being the first point of contact. It is not just a few individuals who carry the burden of responsibility here, it is Cyprus as a whole, because it is our apathy that allows these incompetent people to take salaries, they do not deserve.

If this young person is not to have died in vain, then we as a community must ensure that those who are responsible for GROSS NEGLIGENCE are not only brought to account for their actions, or lack of, but we must not allow this to be swept under the proverbial carpet.

I feel, most strongly, that we should not only be judged, but should judge ourselves on how far we go to protect the innocent.

As a father who has also had to stand by and watch the negligence of these people fail my own child, I would like to see this boy inspire us to protect other children………….at any cost.