Friends, relatives among perpetrators amid rape surge in Westmoreland
Published:Monday | July 15, 2024 | 12:08 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Close relatives and friends are reportedly among the sexual predators responsible for the rising number of rapes involving teenage girls and women in Westmoreland.
This was disclosed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Othneil Dobson, commanding officer for the Westmoreland Police Division, as he addressed councillors and officers of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) last Thursday.
According to Dobson, between January 1 and July 6 this year, 19 cases of rape were brought to the attention of the police. Following investigations, they were able to track down and find the perpetrators, resulting in a 100 per cent clear-up rate.
“The major concern for me and my team is the numbers in addition to who these perpetrators are,” said Dobson in his maiden address to the general meeting of the WMC following his deployment to manage operations of the division earlier this year.
“The perpetrators are mostly family members and persons who people entrusted their young children with,” the senior superintendent said, noting the more than 50 per cent year-on-year increase in rape.
“One of our major concerns is the issue of rape. We are seeing an increase ... over last year this time, where there have been 19 this year, up from 12,” Dobson noted.
He said the police are urging citizens to be more judicious, alert, and vigilant when deciding to leave their young children with friends and relatives.
“Ensure that you are leaving them with people who will not harm them,” Dobson cautioned.
Moved away from morals
Respected western Jamaica-based family therapist Dr Beverly Scott, founder and executive director of the Family And Parenting Centre, told The Gleaner that the police would continue to struggle with such crimes because families have moved away from decency and morals and no longer guard children from early exposure to sexual activities.
She said children are being exposed much earlier than they should to sex and sexuality through pornography in a society that has become highly sexualised.
“It is easy to pick up pornographic movies on your mobile phones, and almost every child owns one or has access to one,” Scott told The Gleaner.
She said families are no longer safeguarding children from sexual activities, leaving them exposed to sexual exploitation.
Scott argued that families no longer teach their children about sex and age appropriateness, which has resulted in predators preying on the young in families.
“Children, after watching these pornographic movies, are generally hooked and then these men take advantage of them by carrying out what they’ve seen in pictures and on these videotapes,” she added.