ONE OF THE GOOD things about no longer living in Barbados is being able to comment from a distance without having to bother about who I offend.
This is why I must ask: Why isn’t there a sex offenders register in Barbados where any member of the public can obtain information as to who is a sex offender?
I used to work with drug abusers in Barbados and I have found that at least 75 per cent of the young men I had to deal with were abused as children. Of that number, more than half of them, about 60 per cent, said they were sexually abused over a period of time.
So as far as I am concerned, drug addiction is the child of abuse, and crime is the child of addiction.
As it relates to young women who are addicted to drugs, I have found that about 90 per cent of those who were involved in rehabilitation had prostituted themselves to support their addiction. And, out of the ones that were on the streets for over four years, about half of them or more have incurable sexually transmitted diseases.
I have also found that the vast majority of women in addiction had abusive childhoods.
I can say today that there are many men walking around Barbados smiling and holding a Bible who are responsible for the loss of our young black people!
People would be vexed with me with saying this, they would even ask me for proof, but I know what I know because I have heard the stories. It is heartbreaking.
Abuse is a taboo subject in Barbados, therefore it festers and increases because it enjoys the dark cloak of silence. Have you ever realized that the politicians never talk about sexual predators? Do you know why? Two of them told me: “Talking about a national sex offenders registry won’t bring votes.”
The recent case of the older man who was charged [in the case of the 12-year-old girl] who went missing 11 years ago brought these memories back to me.
There are many more things I can say about sexual abuse of young children, much of which was done by people they know. The cycle of abuse continues. Barbados is the sexual predator’s dream! Sad but true.
That is why when I hear politicians spouting the statement that the youth are our future, I feel like saying “shut up!”
If [they] really cared about the youth – and I’m referring to both political parties – they would do more to protect children in Barbados from sexual predators.
