Tell Me Pastor

Enforcing the law

Dear Pastor,

It is an honour to write to you. I am a 22-year-old student living in the United States, and I am currently studying chemistry. I want to voice my opinion on the article, "Men, Stop the under-age loving."

I remember that while I was a youngster growing up, it was common for older men to indulge in sexual activities with under-aged high school girls. It was something I found to be very disturbing. The worst thing was, most of the girls were too naïve to know that they were being used. They all thought that because they were involved with older men, they were big women. I do agree that there are cases where the mothers have tolerated and sometimes encouraged their daughters to become intimate with older men, and that in other cases, mothers are protective.

However, I want to direct my attention to the government and the law. In the article, you stated that, "They should not be blamed, because the laws are in the book." Yes, that is true, but what is the point of writing the laws in the books if they are not being upheld? The government needs to be stricter towards these situations; they go unnoticed way too often. Don't get me wrong, the government is not totally to be blamed, but they should be held more accountable. They should be held most accountable because they control the economic welfare of the country.

Most of the people in Jamaica who are in poverty are not there by choice. They are in that position because the government doesn't provide the infrastructure to provide the less educated population with jobs. Correct me if I am wrong, approximately 70 per cent of the people living in Jamaica are in poverty. This means that jobs are very limited.

If the government were able to come up with more job opportunities, many mothers wouldn't have to tolerate or be forced to turn their daughters into sacrificial lambs. A lot of things that occur in our communities are a downward spiral from the top. These young women are the future mothers of our nation, and we need to protect them from these 'over-aged' predators.

I am not offering the total solution, but I am just highlighting a minuscule factor that the government needs to take into account in order to improve the lives of our fellow Jamaicans.

E. W,

Hartford Connecticut

Dear E.W.,

You raised some very good points. I can only assure you that these matters are being addressed by government, civic organisations and the private sector. And contrary to what many people may say, things are much better than they used to be. I appreciate your letter.

Pastor