An educational film about the effects of shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is set to be broadcast on local television stations through the Coalition for the Protection of Children.

Children's rights activist Sheelagh Cooper told week she was planning to have the films broadcast on both stations and in the Island's middle and senior schools.

Mrs. Cooper said parents must be educated about SBS in light of several high profile court cases this year in which children have died or been severely impaired as a result.

"We haven't done our job completely yet in terms of educating the public, and it's clear we need to work on outreach and education," said Mrs. Cooper. "A lot of the film deals with not only the medical aspects of SBS but on the emotional content as well, such as frustration on the part of parents."

An American expert who testified in the trial of Karim Salahuddin ? the young father convicted of murdering his baby daughter ? said SBS cannot be inflicted on a child by a short fall or simply by bouncing a child around. Significant bleeding and brain injury around the brain with bleeding in the eyeballs or what doctors refer to as retinal haemorrhages are the main symptoms of SBS. Out of all children who are shaken, 25 percent die but a significant portion, 75 percent survive, although these children struggle with speech and mental impairment and sometimes blindness and low IQ.