Dennie Quill, Contributor
THE STORY goes like this. An 11-year-old girl left in the care of her grandmother in rural Jamaica was raped by a 70-year-old neighbour and became pregnant. Devastated by the news, the child's mother, who lived in England, contacted the local police urging them to investigate the matter. When a team arrived at the grandmother's home, she refused to cooperate. Her remark to friends later: "What is the sense sending the poor man to prison, it happen already?" We didn't know then that dirty old men like that were properly branded paedophiles. This is an old story, but similar anecdotes are being repeated throughout the length and breadth of Jamaica, and they indicate gross breach of trust.
Our children are being sexually abused by fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, siblings and other relatives, as well as by neighbours and strangers. Experts say the child who knows and cares for an abuser becomes trapped between affection and loyalty and a sense that a wrong has been done to them when they are fondled, have oral genital contact, or sexual penetration. So what does the child do? The abused child is faced by two choices: remain silent, or speak out and create family disruption and cause jail time for the breadwinner - most times the child chooses silence.
The story quoted above ended with the child giving birth, her education was interrupted, and the child she bore has turned out to be a troubled boy. And guess what, she had another child by the old rapist.
I am by no means an alarmist, but I believe we are facing an epidemic of sexual child abuse in this country. It is time for a parliamentary hearing to shine a bright light on the scope of the problem. Doctors who treat these victims, police personnel who oversee rape units, counsellors and others who know the pain caused by sexual molestation should be summoned to Parliament and asked to talk about the prevalence, enormity and consequences of sexual abuse of children.
A MOTHER'S INTUITION
It ought not to be left to the vigilance of people like Betty Anne Blaine and other civic-minded people to alert us to the high level of sexual depravity in our society. Hopefully, Parliament will enact laws with longer sentences for offenders, and oblige them to work and pay compensation for the hurt they caused and the arrest of mothers and care-givers as accomplices. Intuitively, a mother can recognise the signs of lust when an adult male looks at a child. When she hears him talking about the child's developing body, or walks into the bathroom on her, or buys her expensive gifts for no apparent reason, and is constantly hugging her and touching her - it is time to ring the alarm bell.
Our women have to muster the courage to confront the relative - or seek help from the family doctor, guidance counsellor or pastor. Mothers should learn how to respond to a child's complaint of sexual abuse in a caring, supportive way and not make them feel guilty or accuse them of lying. An important part of parenting involves talking to children about love, intimacy and sex and if parents are uncomfortable about performing this duty, they should seek help from health care professionals.
A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE
Consider this - an infant not yet six months arrives at hospital with her genitals raw from oral stimulation by her father - her little body was so badly frayed she had to be hospitalised. Then there was the case of a nine-month-old whose intestines were ruptured after daddy tried to have sex with her. Do we need more gut-wrenching stories to convince us that we need a call to action now? I am told there are many others. Perhaps, new legislation will make provision for police personnel to be stationed at the hospitals to ensure that all such cases are properly reported and investigated. The Medical Association of Jamaica whose members attend to these horrific cases should be anxious to bring such evidence to the attention of the public at large.
This is a public health issue and we need to articulate a national position aimed at intervention and prevention. This national campaign could take a two-pronged approach - a clearly articulated policy of intolerance and a public education programme to heighten public awareness about the trauma of child sex abuse.
Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist who may be reached at denniequill@hotmail.com.
