It was hard to miss the deluge of global headlines referring to the indictment and arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York City this week. He was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs pleaded not guilty to the charges in federal court in New York City.

In a public address, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said: “As alleged in the indictment, for years Sean Combs used the business empire he controlled to sexually abuse and exploit women, as well as to commit other acts of violence, and obstruction of justice. Today, he is charged with racketeering and sex trafficking offences.”

The district attorney’s office stated further that “Combs’ sexual abuse of women included causing them to engage in frequent, days-long sexual activity with male commercial sex workers, some of whom were transported over state lines.

“These events, which Combs referred to as freak offs, were elaborate sex performances that Combs arranged, directed, and often electronically recorded. To ensure participation in freak offs, Combs used violence and intimidation and leveraged his power over victims — power he obtained through obtaining and distributing narcotics to them, exploiting his financial support to them, and threatening to cut off the same, and controlling their careers.”

Additionally, “Combs also threatened his victims, including by threatening to expose the embarrassing and sensitive recordings he made of freak offs, if the women did not comply with his demands.

Social media went wild with viral commentary highlighting and finding humour surrounding the raid and the discovery at Combs home of some 1,000 bottles of lube and baby oil allegedly used in these freak offs.”

After reading the 14-page indictment, I find the whole matter sordid and disturbing. Why? Because I see parallels right here in Jamaica, where sex is wielded as a weapon of assault, manipulation, and control, and this reality is already in our high schools.

Children’s Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison raised the alarm in 2019 that “revenge porn” was a trend being practised among high school Jamaican teens. That is, a boy and girl in a relationship have no problems filming themselves in a sexual act. However, if the relationship ends badly, one releases the video digitally to embarrass the other party.

I will never forget in 2017 when Superintendent Enid Ross-Stewar, head of the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) told a joint parliamentary committee that it was pastors and policemen among the leading ‘high-profile’ perpetrators of sex offences against children.

Although somewhat taboo to mention, sex had become the latest currency primarily used to attain social mobility. Also, it is used as a weapon of entrapment or blackmail if the vulnerable party tries to leave or act outside the prescribed norms of the terms of engagement.

In corporate Jamaica there are now more reported sexual harassment incidents. There is this new sense of entitlement among some predators within positions of power who believe that sex is the rite of passage for others to be given the privilege of getting a promotion.

Over time, I have met with many young women and men who ask for my help to manoeuvre a boss or intimate partner who is forcing them to participate in sexual acts as a form of control for them to get or keep a job or for them to receive monthly financial assistance.

Often, the sexual manipulation is aggressive, with multiple people brought into the space for voyeurism on the part of the manipulator. If they try to leave the circumstance the material gains are immediately withdrawn, or they are threatened with physical and reputational harm.

Many people argue that our dancehall culture encourages famous artistes to elevate and promote this behaviour, which has sparked huge debates as to whether the personification and normalisation of the “violent dominant over the submissive” sexual practices could also be a contributory factor.

Several years ago I spoke at a civil society group meeting about breaking down traditional systems that eroded our mindset about the rule of law and discipline in our society. I gave several examples while asking about established norms that should never be called into scrutiny. Therefore, I asked the question: Should those who are incarcerated be permitted to make new music for sale and distribution? What message are we sending to others about breaking the law if the police license this or cannot uphold its prison rules?

One radio journalist took my questioning out of context, sensationally tweeting that I wanted the music of a particular artiste banned from being played on the radio. The comments were swift, with viral threats to me of gang rape followed by death. As I read through many of the messages and texts from both men and women I was surprised that most involved reprimand by violent sex.

“Dem need fi gang rape yuh and give yuh a gunshot in yuh p*&^%y”

“Dah gyal need a gunshot to her head after mi done wid her…”

“But you rude yuh fi get rape and dash weh…”

And so it continued, that I was to be subjected to being raped violently first by multiple individuals and then shot and killed as a form of discipline for daring to question our institutional systems and entertainers incarcerated.

GUILTY SECRET

Many may think freak offs do not frequently occur here in Jamaica but, contrary to popular belief, they do — uptown and downtown. These encounters are private, invitation-only, live sex parties where patrons abide by established rules to participate in everything and anything. Oftentimes, nothing is off limits, and some of the invitations outline face masks, condoms, and other goodies with a telephone number to call for the rules of the party.

Data prepared by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions showed that there were 437 sexual offence cases listed for this term, including 24 new cases and others transferred from the Easter term. Rape remains the dominant sexual offence, at 188, followed closely by 143 cases of sexual intercourse with a person under 16, with 38 cases of grievous sexual assault rounding out the top three categories.

Recently, Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jeremy Taylor, KC, called for more to be done to stem the rise in sexual offences in Jamaica and that policy-makers are not paying enough attention.

“We have all manner of operations and legislations to deal with firearms, even murders, but we have a high rate of sexual offences and hardly anything is being done about it. It has become cultured and it has become part of the landscape,” he said.

However, other places worldwide are moving to prosecute perpetrators, including the US, with Harvey Weinstein, Jeffery Epstein, R Kelly, and now Sean Combs facing prosecution.

In France, there is a trial underway with a 71-year-old French man Dominique Pélicot admitting that, for nearly a decade, he repeatedly drugged his unwitting wife and invited dozens of men to rape her while she lay unconscious in their bed, and he watched.

Now in the UK, Mohamed Al Fayed, the late Harrod’s billionaire, has dozens of women claiming sex assaults, including rape, against him. Lawyers representing the women said he “was a monster enabled by a system”. One woman said, “He preyed on the most vulnerable, those who needed to pay rent and some who didn’t have parents to protect them.”

We’ve been operating with our eyes wide shut for too long. It’s time we listen and clamp down on the systems and predators of sexual violence in Jamaica.

Lisa Hanna is Member of Parliament for St Ann South Eastern, People’s National Party spokesperson on foreign affairs and foreign trade, and a former Cabinet member.