Hayward woman pleads guilty to charges in child’s death – apg-wi.com

Case Report: Child Fatality and Linkages to Sustainable Development Goals

Incident Overview

A judicial report from the Sawyer County Circuit Court on November 21 confirms that Samantha S. Smith pleaded guilty to two of three charges related to the death of her 4-year-old daughter. The victim, a child with severe disabilities, died on July 28, 2021. This case highlights critical challenges related to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The legal proceedings directly address the targets within SDG 16, which aims to promote just, peaceful, and inclusive societies.

• Target 16.2: The case is a direct response to the need to “end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.” The court’s action against the perpetrator is a fundamental step in upholding this target.
• Institutional Accountability: The progression of this case through the Sawyer County Circuit Court demonstrates the function of justice institutions in holding individuals accountable for violent crimes, particularly against vulnerable populations.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

The circumstances surrounding the child’s death underscore significant gaps in ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all, especially for vulnerable individuals.

• Vulnerable Populations: The death of a child with severe disabilities points to a failure in the support systems designed to protect the health and safety of the most at-risk individuals in society.
• Access to Care: This incident raises critical questions about the adequacy of healthcare and social support services available to children with profound disabilities and their caregivers, a key component of universal health coverage (Target 3.8).

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

This case emphasizes the urgent need to address inequalities faced by persons with disabilities, a core objective of SDG 10.

1. Protection of Vulnerable Groups: The victim’s status as a young child with severe handicaps places her in a category of extreme vulnerability. The fatal outcome illustrates the severe consequences when the rights and safety of such individuals are not protected.
2. Empowerment and Inclusion: Achieving Target 10.2, which calls for the empowerment and inclusion of all persons irrespective of disability or age, requires robust protective measures to prevent such tragedies.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • The article discusses the death of a 4-year-old child, which directly relates to the goal of reducing child mortality and ensuring healthy lives for all, especially for vulnerable individuals like a “severely handicapped girl.”
2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • The case involves criminal charges and a court appearance (“pleaded guilty… in Sawyer County Circuit Court”), which pertains to the justice system. More importantly, the death of a child due to the actions of a caregiver is an extreme form of violence against children, which this goal aims to eliminate.
3. SDG 5: Gender Equality
   • The victim was a young girl. This goal includes the elimination of all forms of violence against all women and girls in the private and public spheres. The death of a girl in her own home due to neglect or abuse is a direct contravention of this goal.

2. Specific SDG Targets

1. Target 3.2: By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age.
   • The article’s subject is the death of a “4-year-old… girl.” While the death resulted from a criminal act, it represents a failure to protect a child under 5 from a preventable death, in this case, one caused by harm or neglect from a caregiver.
2. Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
   • The death of the child, for which her mother pleaded guilty to criminal charges, is a “related death rate” resulting from violence and/or severe neglect. This case is a specific instance of the violence this target seeks to reduce.
3. Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
   • The circumstances leading to the death of a vulnerable, handicapped child in the care of her mother, resulting in criminal charges, fall squarely under the category of abuse and violence against children that this target aims to end.
4. Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres.
   • The victim is a 4-year-old girl who died in her “Hayward home.” This represents the most severe form of violence against a girl in the private sphere, which this target is designed to eliminate.

3. Implied Indicators for Measurement

1. Indicator 3.2.1: Under-5 mortality rate.
   • The death of the 4-year-old girl is a single data point that would contribute to the calculation of this indicator at the local and national level.
2. Indicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age.
   • The legal proceedings described in the article (“persons charged in connection with the death”) imply the death was treated as a homicide or a related criminal offense. This case would be counted in the statistics that form this indicator.
3. Indicator 16.2.1: Proportion of children aged 1-17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month.
   • While the article does not provide statistics, it describes a fatal outcome of the exact issue this indicator is meant to track: violence against a child by a caregiver (“The mother of the girl… pleaded guilty”). This case represents the most extreme end of the spectrum measured by this indicator.

Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: apg-wi.com