Psychologist — High numbers of sexual abuse

Special Report

It is estimated that about 60 percent of young women in TT have been sexually molested or abused by an older male relative/friend, or date-raped. The figures, it is felt, may be much higher in Tobago, with as much as 80 percent of it occurring in our sister isle. Among these figures, are young women and mature men between the ages 30 to 50, who may have contracted the HIV/AIDS virus through such relations. A number of them are walking around the streets of Port-of-Spain and across the country and don’t even know they have the deadly virus. This is the view of Clinical and Forensic psychologist, Dr Stanley Bishop who was part of a sporting programme for youths when he and his psychology counterparts discovered, through interaction with the coaches, “erratic and inappropriate”’ behaviour coming from the young women. The Super Five sporting programme was designed by the government to re-orient school children after it realised that a number of them were dropping out of high school. Industrial psychologist Courtney Boxill came up with the idea of a Centre for Sports Psychology and had presented the idea to the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. Following complaints from the coaches about the behaviour patterns, a team of psychologists did tests with the young women involved in the programme across the country.

One of the tests is internationally used by psychologists to determine if someone had been sexually abused. Through the tests, they discovered that most of the young women had been experiencing some form of abuse either through molestation or incest, by either a father, common-law relation, male relative or a male person who was close to them. Dr Bishop said based on his own investigations and the figures which are currently available, the number of young women being sexually abused is quite high. The figures were also part of a pilot study Dr Bishop was doing on Juvenile Prostitution. Based on his experience, he said most women going through abuse, usually showed signs of erratic, disruptive behaviour, not listening and defiance which is psychologically called, “conduct disorder behaviour.” “That behaviour then transfers the inability to accept information and follow rules and instructions especially when it is a recent incident because they are ‘pissed off’ with the perpetrator and they feel helpless,” he said. Based on statistics from the programme, for example, Dr Bishop discovered that if out of 20 women, nine were raped, at least one to three and as much as five turned out to be prostitutes. Ministry of Health statistics published in a daily newspaper earlier this year showed that about 27 percent of women in TT are being sexually abused. Dr Bishop pointed out that these figures only reflect the incidents which have been reported and not the many more which have not been reported either to hospitals or the police. Other statistics showed that 66 percent of women had sexual intercourse before the age of 12 and about 36 percent were worried about HIV/AIDS and approximately 75 percent had intercourse by age 16.

Dr Bishop noted that those are the ones who may be the missing link in getting a true picture, especially between ages 12 and 21. “In other words, Trinidad and Tobago is a country which has a high number of perverted parents and adult men,” he said. He pointed out that even though the consent for sexual intercourse is age 16, a number of young women are engaged in sexual activities with much older men from a young age. Among the cases Dr Bishop has had to deal with are young women, from as early as ages 14 to 16, sexually engaged with mature men as old as 35 years and over. He said in most rape cases, the victim will not report the incident to the police because he/she usually knows the perpetrator. In many cases, it is a relative. “There are a lot of paedophiles in TT and the problem is even greater in Tobago and this is because the sexual environment in this country is too highly charged,” Dr Bishop said.

The outraged psychologist spoke about some of the things some girls are manipulated with such as “Kiss cakes and KFC.” “When these girls say they have a man, they really do literally have a man and not a boyfriend,” he said. The victims, he said, usually want to lash out but because of the extreme sense of guilt and shame they experience, they don’t do anything. “That is the main reason why perpetrators of sexual abuse in TT could get away with it because of that sense of shame that controls the victim from speaking out and reporting the incident,” said Dr Bishop. He noted that the population also does not seem to be adequately informed on how to report cases of sexual abuse/rape. One of the first things he advised is for the victim to flee right away. Don’t go to a neighbour’s house, head straight to a police station within the first hour or two of the incident since this is when all of the evidence is still fresh on the person’s body and avoid washing yourself off to prevent possible evidence from being erased.
 
Dr Bishop is appealing to all parents in TT to educate themselves about the law regarding children’s rights. “Families do not know what is on the law books about children’s rights and if they know, they refuse to implement it,” he said. For example, a lot of people do not know about the law regarding children’s privacy. “Even though the child is in the house, the child has a right to his/her privacy. Parents are not supposed to be pushing, pulling or probing a child,” Dr Bishop pointed out. He said there is also very little respect from parents concerning their children’s wishes, who seem to want to run their lives by arranging marriages and sending them abroad when they threaten to tarnish the family’s image. “If parents had access to children’s rights and this was being reinforced, especially in the schools, the churches and other social sectors, people would become more aware about who they are in relation to children’s rights,” he said. Dr Bishop said there is a lot of information out there but pointed out that it has to start with the home and the parents. He noted that when victims of rape and sexual abuse come to terms that it happened to them by someone they trust, they eventually give up on themselves as an individual. “When you look at the number of young girls who have been sexually disenfranchised and violated, their life has turned and been redefined to the point they say ‘what the hell’ — and give up,” said Dr Bishop. When a person is sexually violated, especially by a family member, they become sexually provocative because they develop what is clinically diagnosed as “reactive attachment disorder.” He said they reach a point where they hurt so much emotionally, they accept the manipulation and to reaffirm their humanity, make themselves very easily available sexually to other males other than the perpetrator. “This is where the disorder becomes a concern,” he said. Dr Bishop pointed out that the problem is being made worse through an already morally decaying society.

AG: Justice delayed is justice denied

Attorney General Glenda Morean agreed that the judicial system moves too slowly, stating that justice delayed is justice denied regarding sexual offences such as statutory rape. Speaking with Sunday Newsday, she said there are already laws in place to deal with sexual offences under the Sexual Offences Act. However, she agreed that the court system is what keeps back the process of giving justice to women who have been sexually assaulted. “That is why I am at pains to set out the different measures and mechanisms being put in place in the judiciary to ensure that the system really works because it is really a fact that justice delayed is justice denied and the court system moves a bit too slowly. The wheels of justice turn a bit too slowly,” she lamented. Morean hoped that with the improvement in technology and better systems being put in place in the judiciary, the general public will have a more rapid response in terms of getting dates of hearings for cases.

Rapport: Parents should teach children about sex

Parents have been urged to teach their children about sex, as early as they can understand how to communicate, in the wake of the escalating incidences of HIV/AIDS in TT. Members of “Rapport,” the youth arm of the National AIDS Programme, said if children learn how to identify a “bad sexual feeling” from a tender age, they will be able to say “NO” and know how to prevent incidents of rape, incest and sexual abuse from occurring in their own lives. They said parents need to know and understand their role as individuals, mothers and fathers, in order to protect the younger generation from the scourge of HIV/AIDS, which is spreading rapidly because of the “young women with older men cycle.” Thousands of young people are being infected with the virus on a daily basis and Rapport agreed a number of young women were being infected because of incest, sexual abuse and intercourse with older men. Wanda Thomas, Acting Manager of the Port-of-Spain Centre, Cheryl-Ann Thompson, representative for Arima and Dale Delicia from the San Fernando Centre of Rapport, spoke openly on the issues to Sunday Newsday last week.

Thompson described the trend of young women with older men as serious. She said based on the statistics from the 16-19 age group, there is a ratio of seven infected females to one HIV  infected male. “From those statistics, the majority of young women, tend to go with older men, especially in the 15 to 45 age group,” she added.
Thompson said, unfortunately, a lot of the young women are going towards the older men for monetary gains and were selling their bodies in order to achieve this. Delcia described this trend as an “epidemic,” pointing out that approximately 90 out of 100 women are in relationships with older men. He said it was unfortunate that men feel they have to have sex with a minor or a “young virgin” for “rank” or some other personal satisfaction.

“There is still a myth with men that if they have sexual intercourse with a virgin, this will cure an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) or HIV,” he said. He said it was also very prominent, incidents in which mothers invite men into their homes to be with their daughters for monetary gains. Delecia pointed out that a lot of older men are looking for younger women as mates because they feel they are less likely to have HIV/AIDS. He said that is why education among young people, as well as adults is important because once a person is infected, it is a life sentence. Thompson noted that having either one, two or three partners is risky and the myth that only promiscuous people contract HIV/AIDS is wrong. “It just takes one time having unprotected sex to get it,” they said. Delecia said a lot of men and even young people have a belief of “invincibility,” that they cannot contract the virus because they feel they are young and invincible, as is the thinking with young people or because of the “macho” image of being strong and invincible among the men. “They think — HIV/AIDS is there, it is killing people but it cannot kill me, it cannot happen to me, that is what they think,” he said. Of more concern, Thompson pointed out, is that when these older men have sexual intercourse with younger women, they can infect their wives with the virus. She said in the 15 to 19 age group, the infected young women are also transferring the virus to their younger male counterparts. “It is a vicious cycle,” Delecia stated, “the older men are giving out the money to the young girls who use it to look fashionable but they are dating and attracting the younger men, so they are infecting them as well and the men are going back to their wives and infecting them in return.” In addition, there is the issue of incest and other forms of sexual abuse, said Rapport.

They said the problem here is that mothers often feel ashamed of what happened or is happening and keeps the situation a secret. The mothers sometimes allow it to continue because they are afraid that their male counterpart will stop giving them the money they need or leave them. Another situation is when the child gets blamed for stirring up confusion because the parents/adults don’t believe him/her. Delecia felt that men need to understand their role and attempt to fulfil their roles as father and protector. “It is unfortunate that boys have been socialised that to have several partners will make you a man or “macho.” But what really makes a man, is his ability to understand his role and fufil his responsibilities, whether as a father, a brother or uncle and do it to the best of his abilities,” he said. Delecia said that is why the education must begin from the home and parents, since children live what they learn. “For example, a lot of female children/adolescents are living with both parents but they help keep secrets for them if they have an ‘outside’ man or woman,” he said. How can you tell them to be faithful to one partner if you are showing them something else? asked Delecia.

He said most parents feel that when you tell a child not to do something, this is an idea of what is good parenting. But as Rapport explained, telling them not to do something without an explanation about the consequences will only increase their curiosity. This, they said, is how the problem of “sex games” begin among children as young as five years old and adolescents in the schools. “If you don’t give them the right information, then they will try to get it elsewhere and most likely, they will get misinformation,” said Delecia. The Rapport team was strongly against parents who use “cliches” with sexual body parts. They said with the rate HIV/AIDS is going, they should tell their children the right things from early because if they don’t, their children will be looking for answers elsewhere and there may be dire consequences to that. “Talking to your children about sex should start from day one, when they understand this is your penis, this is your vagina, this is your bottom. Don’t allow anyone to touch it and let them know what is a good touch from what is a bad touch, who is supposed to touch you and who should not,” said Thomas. Rapport is calling on the Ministry of Education to put sex education on the syllabus, pointing out that parents need to accept the reality of sex among the youths in relation to HIV/AIDS. They felt family life and sex education in which the parents are also educated about sex issues need to be addressed.

HIV/AIDS statistics in TT up until 2000 from the National Surveillance Unit Trinidad Public Health Laboratory

It is estimated that 17,000 persons are infected with HIV/AIDS. That figure has increased considerably and it is estimated that over 40,000 people in TT are infected with the virus.
In 1999, 41 percent of new cases occurred in females, seven percent in children. (The figures would have increased by now.)
Seventy-one percent of AIDS cases were in the age group 20-49 years where it is causing the highest numbers of deaths.
In the 15-19 age group, the number of AIDS cases has been increasing but over the past two years, the cases in this age group have increased by as much as 45 percent.
The male to female rate of HIV infection in the 14 to 19 age group is seven females to 1 male.