Sexual advances
SEASONED girl watchers like me should not be too deeply troubled, but a lot of men in Guyana will be in serious trouble if the new laws against sexual molestation of women and children are vigorously implemented by the police.
And that is as it should be because the way some men have been accustomed to treating and behaving towards women in this country and in the Caribbean was just downright disgusting.
Many years ago, even whistling loudly at a lovely young woman passing by was enough to land a young man in trouble. And it took a lot of pluck and courage to walk up to and strike up a conversation with a woman who was a stranger.
Men had to be courteous to women and I remember older men telling me how mannerly they had to be in approaching a woman for a dance at a party or get together.
And then there were the days of men courting women they had eyed up for marriage and how any meeting between them before marriage was under supervision by an adult. Holding hands was a bold step and a touch or kiss was venturing into very dangerous waters indeed.
But that was long ago and women have come to be regarded as little more than playthings for sexual gratification by some men.
Beauty, it has been said, lies in the eyes of the beholder and beauty could be different things to different people.
But a thing of beauty is a joy forever and beautiful or `hot’ women will attract attention anywhere in the world, as much as handsome men will be a delight to women. (Don’t ask me about same sex attraction. That’s a topic I know nothing about.)
What’s unacceptable though is the licence some men seem to believe they have had to prey on women.
I heard a shocking story the other day about a young man walking up to a young woman in a short skirt on a city street and grabbing one of her thighs. She was stunned beyond words and there was nothing she could have done.
I have seen young men walking up to young women they do not know and holding their arms or other parts of their bodies while making blatantly sexual remarks.
Female visitors to Guyana I have discussed this with said they are deeply offended by the verbal sexual assaults they are subjected to on the streets and in some other public places here. One said she sometimes does not feel safe walking on the streets.
Changing this almost pervasive sadism will not be easy, but at least the laws are now clear and the penalties are severe and it is now up to those charged with implementing and upholding the law to do their duty.
It seems to me that a priority will be for the laws to be clearly understood throughout the Police Force and that all its members are drilled thoroughly in what’s legal and what’s not legal.
The target must be those who prey on women and children, President Bharrat Jagdeo declared as he signed the bill into law Monday, cautioning though that the provisions should not be abused.
Some men I know have suddenly become wary and have vowed to be extremely cautious when around women.
That’s a good sign and it’s even better that they are getting the message this early. The sooner they begin to treat women with more genuine respect, the better.
It’s going to be a long haul but the days of the sick grabbers, feelers, peepers, predators and their cronies are numbered.
Praise be to the Most High!