FOR 55-YEAR-OLD Elizabeth, reports of the rape and murder of six-year-old Shaneika Anderson on May 1 tore open old wounds.
She was taken back to a moment 43 years ago, when, at 12 years of age, she discovered a terrible secret. She had stumbled across pages with her nine-year-old sister Tricia'shandwriting, recounting being fondled then raped by their stepfather. With rage and pain still echoing in her voice, Elizabeth recalls that the abuse started when Tricia was only six years old, Shaneika's age.
Fearing blame and condemnation, and convinced that no one would believe that a tertiary-educated, 'uptown' professional and 'nice guy' would be a child molester, Tricia begged Elizabeth to keep it a secret, even from their mother. Elizabeth agreed.
'RUINED OUR LIVES'
"But I confronted him (the stepfather) with it. I told him that I knew, and if he touched her again, I would get someone to kill him. He didn't touch her again but it didn't help; he (had) ruined our lives," she said.
The burden of the 'secret bearer' still haunts Elizabeth. She wrestled with it, she said; especially three years later, when she watched her younger sister become promiscuous. Life worsened, she said, as Tricia began abusing drugs. Tricia stayed in a substance-induced fog for close to 30 years.
"It was as if it happened to me. It also affected my life," Elizabeth said.
She is still angry that her former stepfather is a free man, having relocated to another part of Jamaica. She is also angry at her mother, who married her stepfather, despite rumours at the time that he had molested the child of his previous partner. Since then, Elizabeth and her mother have had a strained relationship.
While her stepfather moved on, Elizabeth, like her sister, remained drowned in pain and filled with mistrust. They do not trust men and later had several failed relationships. In fact, Elizabeth had problems in two marriages, which she believes is a consequence of the early abuse. Her sister remained locked in a cycle of pain, eventually marrying another substance abuser.
Name changed on request
- Trudy Simpson
