Another reality of life

Mar 24, 2012 Editorial

The Guyanese society for all that may be said about the people is still coy when it comes to sex. The nation sees young people flaunting their sexuality, sometimes to the disgust of the older people in the society.
There seems to be utter disregard for what people think of this blatant display of sex, especially when the society is trying to cope with sexually transmitted infections, trying to have the sexes respect each other and even when the nation is considering expanding its tolerance to include people with their individual sexual preference.
For all this, though, the society is not comfortable discussing sex with the result; many young people get their sexual experience from their peers, sometimes with serious consequences. It is this attitude of the society that has seen parents rigidly opposing the introduction of sex education in schools.
Of interest is – while there is this objection, many parents are not comfortable discussing sex and sexuality with their children. They fail to teach their children about respect for each other. The offshoot is an increase in child sex abuse, domestic violence and single parent families. Each of these situations comes at a cost to the society.
For example, where there is child sex abuse there is the cost of medical attention, the cost of prosecution and the cost of counseling. The real cost is felt when the victim becomes an adult and must live in the society. Only then is the impact of the action felt.
There is one view that domestic abuse is an offshoot of what children experience in the homes in which they spend their formative years. Social scientists say that if children grow up in a home with violence then they accept violence as a norm. Sons see their fathers treat their mothers or any woman shabbily and they accept that as the norm.
This disrespect transforms itself into many cases of domestic deaths. For this year alone many women have died, continuing a tradition that gathered momentum a few years ago. This disrespect is a learnt behaviour. Mothers who are abused, especially those who are not so well schooled, actually encourage their sons to abuse women. It is as though they are exacting their revenge for any abuse they would have suffered at the hands of a man.
It has been proven that those parents who teach their children respect are those who break the cycle of domestic violence. There are social groups in the society that try to promote healthy behavior patterns but many of them are not supported by the place that has the greatest influence on the child—the home.
There are social services that seek to protect women and children. From the government perspective there is even legislation to enforce the proper treatment of women and children. But these are only as good as the society wants them to be. People would invariably remain silent in the face of abuse because they would simply say that they do not want to be involved. And here are the victims who would refrain from having the abuser prosecuted for reasons as varied as the colours of the rainbow. Sometimes the excuse is threatened security; sometimes it is money in the form of compensation because most of the victims are people who live below the poverty line.
A report in a regional newspaper noted, “What happens when boys’ lessons in gender relations come from dancehall or soca lyrics? How should some countries respond to the reality that their adolescent girls have HIV rates four to six times higher than boys? What’s the best way to teach children about teen pregnancy? There’s a lot to be explored when it comes to sex, sexuality and the region’s young people.”
In the coming days a dramatic group would be looking to impart some knowledge to women and young girls. The programme would be a stage presentation called The Vagina Monologues. It tells many interesting stories. It was here in 2004 and left an impression.

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Another reality of life

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