Mahabir-Wyatt: Three-month-old tots victims of sexual abuse

Chairperson of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Diana Mahabir-Wyatt, yesterday said children as young as three months old were victims of sexual abuse because of the superstition that men infected with sexually transmitted diseases can be cured by  having sex with a virgin. “It’s not just in the Caribbean and Latin America, it’s a well-known phenomenon in South Africa and other countries in that continent,” she said at the opening of “Americas Regional Safe Motherhood Workshop and Conference” at the Hilton Trinidad Conference Centre. It is being hosted by the TT Association of Midwives (TTAM) in collaboration with the International Confederation of Midwives.

A pre-conference workshop began yesterday focusing on gender-based violence (GBV). Midwives from 15 countries discussed ways they can have a positive impact on GBV and developed plans of action to take home to their countries. “Most of the programmes against AIDS are male dominated and therefore they blame the victim,” she said. Mahabir-Wyatt said that throughout the Caribbean the majority of AIDS cases are females between the ages of 15-34 years. This region also has a high incidence of incest. “They don’t have the option to say yes or no to sex, whether in marriage or out of marriage. The decision on sexual activity in the vast majority of cases is taken by men.”

Mahabir-Wyatt appealed for midwives, as members of the medical profession to change the approach to controlling AIDS from the “stupid” blaming of the victim. During her presentation, Mahabir-Wyatt underscored the important role midwives could play in stemming GBV. She made several appeals in this regard. She asked midwives to encourage their medical colleagues to report instances of domestic violence and child abuse.  Despite laws, domestic violence continues and Mahabir-Wyatt said she did not expect it to stop. “One of the problems identified in the continuation of domestic violence is that throughout the region our cultures support it, and it is supported by police indifference or their refusal to take domestic violence reports.” Mahabir-Wyatt said perpetrators of domestic violence know it is unlikely they will be punished for breaking the law.

She said perpetrators see their actions being supported by the police and judiciary. When they go before the Court their sentences are very lenient. She said this is institutional support of domestic violence. Members of the medical profession also provided institutional support when they do not report injuries from sexual and domestic violence. Mahabir-Wyatt said this happened “because they don’t want to spend the time going to Court to testify.” Diana-Mahabir appealed for midwives to connect with shelters which assist victims of domestic violence.

Although pregnancy is one of the most vulnerable times for a woman, many shelters have a policy of refusing pregnant women because they are afraid of legal action by the State or victim if any problem occurred. Mahabir-Wyatt said midwives can save lives. “Many women cannot go to public hospitals because they are in danger.” The conference continues today and tomorrow with several papers to be presented on a range of topics including humanisation of childbirth autonomy, traditional midwifery and globalisation.