THE EDITOR, Sir:CHURCH DEACON Donovan 'Uncle Jimmy' James (47), James Rodgers (18) and a 15-year-old have been charged with offences related to sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl.
This case has caused so much outrage that hype and misplaced righteousness may be obscuring some deep societal problems. What actually happened is for the court to determine, and all accused have the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
SOCIETAL PROBLEMS
We may now need to move beyond this specific case to the societal problems indicated by the sexual assault on this minor. Some of the issues we need to address pertain to sexual activities of school children, involvement of supposedly responsible adults in these activities, and use of technology to market and distribute locally produced amateur videotapes on the Internet. Some of the questions we need to ask include:
1. What is the level of sexual and pornographic activity engaged in by school children, particularly in moving vehicles such as buses?
2. Are there Jamaican suppliers of a local and international market for compact discs showing violent sexual activities involving minors?
3. What are the links between adults in positions of trust (including persons assigned to transport school children), the exploitation of minors, and the production of pornographic material?
4. Have we created a social and economic environment in which young girls are treated as viable commodities in a sex trade while offenders escape punishment?
5. What is the role of the Child Development Agency and the Children's Advocate in protecting minors from sexual exploitation? Where is the Child Abuse Registry?
6. What is Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's plan for bringing together civic bodies (including the Church) in a structured programme to respect the rights of the child?
The law must take its course with regard to the deacon and the young men who assaulted this girl. However, if we expend our energies in condemning this one incident, we may lose sight of the vast number of young people who are at least as much at risk as this 13-year-old girl.
I am, etc.,
YVONNE McCALLA SOBERS
sobersy@yahoo.com
Chairman, Families Against State Terrorism
Via Go-Jamaica
