EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS.
That two-word phrase is routinely used to describe the spread of contagious diseases but it is helping to paint an ugly picture of the abuse hundreds, perhaps thousands of women, children and the elderly in Barbados are being forced to endure daily, usually at the hands spouses, parents and caregivers.
For if recent published reports are accurate, we think they are, an epidemic of abuse in our country cries out for closer attention by the Government, civil society and individuals who are aware of what’s taking place but are remaining silent.
The abuse runs the gamut from physical, verbal and psychological to sexual.
Take the case of children. The United States State Department’s human rights report asserted a few months ago that “child prostitution” was a fact of life in Barbados and that the Ministry of Family, Culture, Sports and Youth was aware of it. And in its report on the abhorrent practice of “trafficking in persons” within our borders, the State Department said unnamed authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) knew that “parents and caregivers” were forcing both “local and foreign children of both sexes” into “commercial sex”.
But the nightmare isn’t restricted to sexual abuse. Children routinely suffer physical, verbal and psychological abuse by adults.
That’s why the Barbados Child Care Board, which is responsible for the care of youngsters, has called for stricter regulations to protect them. Hence, Washington’s complaint that “violence and abuse against children remained serious problems”.
Almost identical words were used to describe the plight of women: “violence against women continued to be significant social problems” was the way it was put. For instance, some women, no one knows how many, are being raped by their spouses; domestic violence, though prohibited by the law which offers protection not only to women and children but men as well, seems rampant; and battered women provide stark evidence of abuse.
Just ask the Professional Women’s Club of Barbados, which operates a crisis centre and provides psychological, social and legal services to victims of gender-based violence, about the extent of abuse and its conclusions would ring alarm bells.
Tragically, the elderly, once highly revered by people of all ages, aren’t escaping the scourge as reports proliferate about sexual assault that’s turning seniors in their golden years into victims.
It’s not a consolation, but Barbados isn’t alone in our region. Almost every country, including Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas and St Lucia has similar horror stories to tell about abuse. A root cause is the set of social and cultural norms that spur violence against women and children.
Clearly, then, Barbados needs the “stricter” regulations advocated by the Child Care Board to protect youngsters. Despite our tough economic times and limited financial sources, the Government should find more money for its agencies and NGOs that are servicing victims and helping to crack down on abusers. just as important, the government needs a clearer policy framework designed to combat the sexual exploitation of children. The Police Force, too, should act by changing the way its officers gather evidence about rape, one of the most underreported crimes.
It calls for all hands on deck.
