Dear Editor,

The laughter has now come to end and people are now awaiting the next Internet sensation. For the brief moment that “Mackerel” made it public that it is still common practice to “take people man” our collective reaction was to objectify her. This objectification came as a result of the fact that many simply believed that she lacked the capabilities to take anybody’s man, because, as she put it, she’s a cockroach — an exercise in self-flagellation.

From the onset, I considered Mackerel to be more like a cabbage. Not because it easily spoils, but because each layer of a head of cabbage has the potential to present you with fresher, stronger leaves, exposing its vulnerability the deeper it is stripped.

Mackerel’s laughter and gimmicks were but the first and a thin layer of a full head of cabbage; hiding the pain and hurt at its core. I wish not to spend the rest of time tearing away her leaves; however, what I wish to do is explore the issues from her much-discussed interview on a popular entertainment programme which should have served as a wake-up call to the Government and youth-targeting organisations.

Like Mackerel, there are many children within our society who are victims of abuse, many still voiceless and vulnerable. The first lesson is that children need both masculine and feminine sources of love and will go in search of it if not accessible inside the home. Particularly in a largely matriarchal society like Jamaica, the absence of a father figure inside the home will see both male and female children putting themselves at risk in search of this masculine figure — whether through the enforcing role of the community don or in the arms and beds of older men.

The second lesson is that young women need to be taught to negotiate their role in relationships without fear of economic consequence. The power dynamics in relationships between men and women, most times, are not equal. This inequality presents itself more so in situations in which an under age girl is sexually involved with an older man. In many of these situations, because of the power imbalance, the girl child cannot negotiate condom usage or refuse sexual contact. This lack of negotiating power, more than we would like to admit, results in rape, teenage pregnancy, and contraction of sexually transmitted diseases. With weak reporting, and consequently poor enforcement, the laws are not enough protection for our young girls. The community must own its role as a buttress against these cultural norms, prioritising the rights of the child as guaranteed in the Convention of the Rights of the Child and through the Child Care and Protection Act.

The third lesson is how readily we accept crime as a means that justifies an end. Our hearts should have left our bodies when Mackerel asked the question: “If him did go a prison who would a tek care of the baby?” Logical question, I said to myself at the time, without stopping to look deeper at the consequence of that kind of reasoning.

We must be able to give the nation’s children hope and opportunities beyond the bedrooms and protection from rapists and abusers. For many families and young girls the sexual abuse and exploitation that is experienced is accepted because, without that man’s wallet in the house, the family would be without income. The State must be a reliable alternative with a robust support programme to offer these financially vulnerable households.

The bigger issue must be tackled in these situations lest the social depravity undermines the potential of our nation.

Oshane Grant

Deputy General Secretary

People’s National Party Youth Organisation

oshanegrant23@gmail.com