Men's groups should help curb child abuse

THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE PLIGHT of this young girl who was abducted some days ago by three men in the western end of the island is cause for alarm and grave concern among decent citizens of this country.

It is further evidence of the general moral decay in the country manifesting itself in the total lack of care and respect for the welfare of our fellowmen as long as our personal desires are satisfied. Why would these young men detain this helpless lass for such an elongated period of time under what must be very traumatic conditions for her? Do they not have sisters, mothers, aunts etc., who could possibly experience similar trauma? What would be their response?

This is just the most recent of the litany of reports of abuses meted out to young children both male and female alike. It brings to mind the recent move by the Bureau of Women's Affairs to impose tougher sanctions against persons committing incest. This move should be broadened to include general abuse of children as a whole.

To provide greater strength to this initiative by the Bureau it would be desirable if some men's organisations would lend their unequivocal support to this movement in order to ensure more legitimacy and more so to sensitise men as a whole about their rampant undesirable social conduct and behavioural lifestyles and to instill in them a greater sense of responsibility and civil behaviour.

This again underlines the call for moral reform which is the priority need in this country considering the general complacency towards our individual civic responsibilities. Therefore cutting across all social and cultural groupings there need to be this moral revolution which would invade our personal lifestyles binding us together in a spirit of brotherhood and fellowship that will ensure a lasting bond of respect and togetherness through caring, sharing and extending ourselves to one another in peace, love, and selflessness. This moral and cultural revolution is critical and needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency. Our professional, social, and business organisations as well as individuals need to devise methods to pool their efforts and resources towards identifying workable solutions to the problem.

The Church as a united entity should be the main instigators of this movement since they are the custodians for spiritual and moral development. Unfortunately they have not been as proactive in the matter as would have been expected considering their apathetic response to the latest disturbances a few weeks ago in western Kingston. Only a few have demonstrated deep concern in the matter while particularly the traditional ones appear to be relatively complacent about the situation in terms of visible action.

The silent majority in this country need to wake up and let their voices and actions be heard and felt by deriving creative ways of dealing with this monster through deploying their various resources and talents. Let all the verandah and rum shop talks be converted into practical solutions. Engage friends, relatives, strangers etc., both here and overseas in productive discourses which will realise appropriate solutions. Share ideas and let the process begin.

I am etc.,

ALFONSO F. JACQUES

Padmore,

St. Andrew

Back to Commentary