‘If you see it, say it’: Ministers urge citizens report child abuse

Two ministers on Friday urged Barbadians to come out and report child sexual abuse, stressing that for far too long, society has enabled predators to continue their lives with little to no consequences.

Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw, who was a minister of education in the first Mottley administration, was joined by Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn in making the plea as Parliament debated a joint committee’s report on child protection legislation.

Bradshaw recounted a recent incident that she said deeply troubled her in which a young lady and her children were removed from a home and placed in other accommodations because the husband, a stepfather, sexually assaulted one of her daughters. She added that the mother had “forgiven” the man and welcomed him back into her life with her young
children.

Bradshaw told lawmakers: “What worried me about that situation, is that the mother so loved this gentleman, that despite a recognition that what was done was wrong, still believes that there is a level of forgiveness that she can find in her heart for somebody who has touched her child inappropriately… looked on her girl child at 14 years old and believed that he had some right to be able to take advantage of her.

“The fact that this mother has gone on to entertain the company of this gentleman in the new accommodation is also further troubling, because it sends a message to our children that it is okay to feel them up, it is okay to do things which are inappropriate to them as children, and that our adults will sit idly by and allow these things to happen.”

The deputy PM made clear that such cases were “unacceptable” and must be condemned in no uncertain terms.

She said: “The reality is there is another little girl in the house, who at some time is going to develop the bottom and the breast, and who at some point perhaps will catch his eye. Unless we are able to move quickly to deal with these types of interventions, we are not truly caring for and protecting our children in this country. Instead, we will end up presiding over another generation that believes that these things are okay.”

Many citizens have for far too long been accustomed to keeping silent on vile and criminal acts, said Bradshaw as she urged change.

“We believe that it is okay as a society not to say when a wrong has been committed to a child,” she said. “I believe that this is a deeper issue within our society where people do not want to bell the cat, or as the young people say, ‘nobody don’t want to snitch’. I want to say to this country that not snitching, not reporting, not telling the truth is costing our society the lives of our future generation.

“I have gone to funerals and laid to rest more young men who a system would have known… were creating problems over the years, that the families were struggling, that the children were getting interfered with, and nobody has done nothing.”

Straughn joined Bradshaw, saying the country owes it to its children to protect them: “Young girls, young boys these days must be protected. Children are not economic assets to be taken advantage of. Therefore, big hardback men in this country should not be taking advantage of children. It is nasty, it is wrong. I ain’t drinking, I ain’t liming with anybody that I even know or feel that they are interfering with children. Each of us have to take these individual steps to bring people to account.

“Whether you are operating an organisation, whether it’s a school, whether it’s a sporting organisation, whether it is a service club, whether it’s a religious organisation, we must protect our children wherever they want to be in this country,” he added.

(SB)