“THE bottom line is, the child feels all the pain, sex without consent is still rape.” Those were the words of Member of Parliament Gloria Bancroft, a resident of Mahdia in Region Eight, as she summed up the reasons for her calls for the replacement of all the ranks stationed at the police station there.
Bancroft was bold in her call when she addressed residents of the community on Sunday evening as a team of officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources, led by Minister Raphael Trotman and Junior Minister Simona Broomes met with residents at the Mahdia Primary School to listen to their concerns.
Bancroft told this newspaper that she believed the problem of underage girls being physically or sexually abused in the region was an old one. She said there are “cozy corners” at Mahdia where persons new to the area would take advantage of an already broken system, where addressing the issue at the level of the police is concerned.
“There are men in cozy corners, just as how a batch of police would come into the area or new people and get accustomed to it,” she said, adding that as time passes, these individuals would realise that monies could be paid to either the victim or someone in authority to sweep the matter under the carpet. It is tied to mining most of the time,” she said.
She was of the firm conviction that the environment played a role in the abuse of young women there.
“Look at it, because if you are poor and I am wearing this watch, as a man offering it, you may accept,” she said, adding that it was the mindset of the individual which was targeted.
Minister Broomes told the gathering that the law must be upheld. “These 12 and 13 and 14 year olds in the rum shops and the bar owners selling them alcohol and all the ecstasy … lock them up,” she said.
REPORT THEM
Divisional Commander Rabindranath Budhram said he understood what was being said about the police stationed at Mahdia. He said he took into consideration other issues affecting the region and according to him, Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud had declared that anyone found to be a rogue element would be removed. He also agreed to give his phone number to those persons in attendance at the event if they might feel frustrated about the police efforts there.
Bancroft told this newspaper that she worked as a Rural Constable for some 15 years at the Mahdia Police Station and she understood the situations faced by the youth, including the young women.
She said that she plans to hold meetings with the mothers in the region to discuss the importance of morals and values and passing these onto the children, especially the young women.
At the meeting last Sunday, she told the gathering that repeatedly, persons would meet her on the road and inform her that they had matters with the police but they were afraid to say what happened.
“As a result they become a victim,” she said.
“When things happen and people go to the station they get no satisfaction,” she added, noting that there were cases of physical abuse and domestic violence which are often reported. However, monies would be passed to cover up such matters.
“I am concerned about that and repeatedly, reports are going down and nothing is happening at the police station,” Bancroft told the gathering.
As regards the replacement of the ranks, she noted that several years ago an aircraft had landed at Mahdia and six policemen arrived at the police station. Those who were stationed there were told to hand over and leave as the aircraft waited. “How could you bribe a woman’s body?” she asked. For years, reports have emerged from Mahdia and nearby communities of women, including young ladies, being abused physically or sexually by persons there. In some cases the reports never reach the authorities for due process and persons often reported that settlements were made to hide such reports. The police are often criticised for allowing the legal process to be curtailed.

By Alva Solomon