Five-year-olds being raped
By CECILY ASSON Saturday, November 26 2011
Data coming out of the south office of the Rape Crisis Society of Trinidad and Tobago has shown that five-year-olds were among clients who were brought in to get help from the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) last year.
Marcus Kissoon of the Rape Crisis Society made the disclosure yesterday at the launch of the International Day for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence at Kampo Restaurant in Chaguanas.
Children have a right to sex education, Kissoon said, since it is the means by which they can help protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unwanted pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and other ills. According to Kissoon, out of 91 new clients seen in 2010 at the south office, 31 of them ranged in ages between five to 17.
Kissoon told the audience:
“Our organisation is designed for treatment of psychological traumas, we deal with sexual abuse, rape, and domestic violence.
“In 2010, we observed in our south office, which is located in the heart of San Fernando, that we had 91 new clients, issues ranging from gang rape to incest, to date rape to stranger rape. “In the same year, 31 of these new clients were between the ages of five and 17. Again this is the reported cases that came to us at the south office.”
Kissoon believes there are many cases that go unreported, saying “their numbers could double two or three times that.” Noting that he was a young man bringing word from the Rape Crisis Society, Kissoon said the statistics showed that one in eight men were sexually assaulted.
“... let us pay attention to the men who were sexually assaulted and are walking around with the burden of childhood traumas, those who were interfered with.
“Sex education is important because it is a process of acquiring information and forming beliefs,” he said. International Day for the Elimination of Gender Based Violence was hosted by the Young Women’s Christian Association in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) System in Trinidad and Tobago.
To mark “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” which began yesterday and ends on December 10, a number of events have been organised, including a youth competition titled “My Life in Words...I Claim My Rights”.
Addressing the audience, President of the YWCA of Trinidad and Tobago, Keisha Cruickshank called for an end to violence against women.
“We are calling for an end to domestic violence, sexual violence, to rape, to financial abuse, to trafficking for prostitution, to mobbing and bullying at work,” she said.
Chaguanas Mayor Orlando Nagessar and Minister in the Ministry of Gender Affairs, MP Ramona Ramdial, were among the guests at yesterday’s function.
Children have a right to sex education, Kissoon said, since it is the means by which they can help protect themselves against abuse, exploitation, unwanted pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and other ills. According to Kissoon, out of 91 new clients seen in 2010 at the south office, 31 of them ranged in ages between five to 17.
Kissoon told the audience:
“Our organisation is designed for treatment of psychological traumas, we deal with sexual abuse, rape, and domestic violence.
“In 2010, we observed in our south office, which is located in the heart of San Fernando, that we had 91 new clients, issues ranging from gang rape to incest, to date rape to stranger rape. “In the same year, 31 of these new clients were between the ages of five and 17. Again this is the reported cases that came to us at the south office.”
Kissoon believes there are many cases that go unreported, saying “their numbers could double two or three times that.” Noting that he was a young man bringing word from the Rape Crisis Society, Kissoon said the statistics showed that one in eight men were sexually assaulted.
“... let us pay attention to the men who were sexually assaulted and are walking around with the burden of childhood traumas, those who were interfered with.
“Sex education is important because it is a process of acquiring information and forming beliefs,” he said. International Day for the Elimination of Gender Based Violence was hosted by the Young Women’s Christian Association in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) System in Trinidad and Tobago.
To mark “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” which began yesterday and ends on December 10, a number of events have been organised, including a youth competition titled “My Life in Words...I Claim My Rights”.
Addressing the audience, President of the YWCA of Trinidad and Tobago, Keisha Cruickshank called for an end to violence against women.
“We are calling for an end to domestic violence, sexual violence, to rape, to financial abuse, to trafficking for prostitution, to mobbing and bullying at work,” she said.
Chaguanas Mayor Orlando Nagessar and Minister in the Ministry of Gender Affairs, MP Ramona Ramdial, were among the guests at yesterday’s function.
