Even though incest and child sex abuse continue to be major problems in Jamaican society, Children’s Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison said people across the Island tend to be tight-lip about the topics.
“You will get information that it is happening, but because there is a culture of tolerance and letting ‘family business remain family business’, these instances do not necessarily convert into an active report to a police station, which would then lead to an investigation then an arrest,” Gordon Harrison said on Thursday.
Children Advocate, Diahann Gordon Harrison
Gordon Harrison told THE WEEKEND STAR that while there are systems in place to penalize perpetrators, the lack of “evidential material” has often led investigators to dead ends.
“If you look at sexual abuse and sexual offenses under a blank category, the one that jumps out the most is sex with a person under 16 years. We do have incest cases, we do have cases of rape, and so on, but this one is the leading one. However, the problem with incest is that in many communities, we are not getting the information in terms of concrete evidential material that can lead to systems of accountability chipping in to hold these persons responsible for their actions,” she said.
Diahann Gordon Harrison
Discussions relating to the sexual abuse of children have resurfaced recently following a social media uproar caused by a news article in the Gleaner that a 14-year-old minor gave birth to twin boys on Christmas Day.
Superintendent Maldria Jones-Williams, the officer in charge of the Centre for Investigations of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse, confirmed an active investigation into the matter. She said it was reported to the police on October 11, 2022.
“I think this story has put front and center a longstanding issue. Unfortunately, Jamaica has always been one of those countries in the Caribbean region with a persistent teenage pregnancy reality. So we have had, routinely every year, children who are below the age of consent becoming pregnant, and some of them carrying those babies to term and giving birth,” she said.
Superintendent Maldria Jones-Williams
Gordon Harrison barked at persons on social media who trivialized teenage pregnancy by claiming it is not a new problem in Jamaica.
“I think those are irresponsible comments. Comments like those cause even greater concern because it tells me that there are members of our society who don’t even begin to understand the nature of the social ills that affect us,” she said. “Imagine for a moment, you have a 14-year-old girl who has not yet understood life herself. She is not fully formed and settled in terms of her own views as a person. Her level of maturity and ability to contribute to her own well-being is not yet at a stage where you can say, ‘Yes man, she is gonna be alright.'”
Diahann Gordon Harrison
In addition, “She has no income-earning ability, and she has not completed her education. And so what that means is that if there isn’t a serious intervention, she could be on a path where she will have her education ended at age 14.
Damian Crawford proposes increasing the age of consent from 16-18
In contributing to the crime bill, Senator Damian Crawford proposes increasing the age of consent from 16-18. Here are two Audio clip excerpts of what he had to say.