Dear Ms Thompson,
I am quite glad that you presented the article as you did, explaining the different facets of trauma. I am severely disturbed by the ordeal of the abused teenager. It just makes me wonder where we are heading as a society.
I guess you could say that I too have been traumatised! I am deeply concerned for other young women like myself. I also bleed for the men of this country. Far too often women are abused and mistreated both within intimate relationships and outside of them. For even married women suffer at the hands of cruel and insensitive partners. Something is very wrong with the socialisation of our males. You hit the nail directly on the head when you suggested that some men see and treat women as though they are property, so that even on the road, they feel free to make crude remarks and people are not sufficiently outraged.
- Severely disturbed
Dear Ms Thompson,
The case in question is beyond comprehension to me, and I must applaud you for your article in The Gleaner. It was well written and I thank you for not being silent. You offered strong words of counselling and other counsellors should do likewise, because the can of worms has already been opened and silence is like a sort of endorsement.
Speak out and let the world know that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated. You were excellent in providing words that can start the process of healing and it was a privilege to read your article.
- John Black
Dear Ms. Thompson,
I was a member of the Dayton Avenue Church of God and although I am not now attending that church, we were being taught the right way to live and especially live as true Christians.Yes, I truly believe that that young girl shouldn't have gone through what had happen to her. I read your article which stated that people should continue to protest, as they did on Monday, before the Church, but you and I know that sometimes these newspapers say things because they want the public to be influenced by what they are saying.
What Sister Kelly had said is totally different from what they published in their paper which now has misled the Jamaican public and they now want to burn down the church and kill others who weren't a part of what took place.
I sincerely hope and pray for all those who are planning any attack against the church and other innocent members. I also urge these to publicists to please get the facts straight and stop misleading the public because its wrong and definitely they will be punished by God for doing so. God bless.
Dear Ms. Thompson,
Thank you for this article on trauma and how it affects all of us. You say that girls don't dress to be raped and this is true. Their intention is not to be raped but what is their intention? Is it not to 'attract'?
I've spent hours and hours walking around the town of Montego Bay in amazement at the styles that have conquered our culture. I also give some liberty to teenagers although it isn't necessary for them to walk about 80 per cent naked. These women run the risk of rape because rape is not an intellectual exercise. There are men who control themselves and there are men who don't such as men who live existentially, or boys who are under the influence of others, movies, television, or their base personality.
This may not have been the case with the 14-year-old, it's just one aspect of the problem. Boys are not being trained, we have no rites of passage into manhood, they don't know when to throw away their toys and they don't know what being a man is. We are in grave circumstances because the incidents are increasing; the society is sinking into immorality. God is the answer.
- A. M. Ansari
Dear Ms Thompson,
I read your article about that 14 year-old girl and it hurts to read about such a violent act. Things like this happen everywhere, it's not just limited to Jamaica and as for us in the media , that's our duty to provide information on how to deal with these issues which are plaguing our young minds. I applaud you for helping to bring this information to the forefront. I'm a Jamaican and I am always proud to be.
- Andel Green
Hartford, Connecticut
Send questions and comments to our health specialists at Your Health, c/o The Gleaner, 7 North Street, Kingston; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com. Unless otherwise indicated, letters and the specialists' responses are usually published.
