FALSE RAPE CLAIMS: The stories that are never told...

by: Kymberli Whittaker

“Rape”  is such a dirty word. It connotes feelings of anger, rage and condemnation once uttered or even implied, and with good reason. Rape is an act so abhorrent that it shifts power from the victim to the person committing the act. Rape is about power, men know this and women know this as well.

We warn our females to be careful and try to avoid situations when possible to avoid assaults (as far as it is possible- women are not responsible for being raped EVER), but what about our men.  The sad reality is that men may find themselves at the centre of a false rape accusation and these men are blind-sided as their world turns upside down.

 The truth is some women may choose to lie about rape for different reasons- Men read, learn and protect yourself. Here are a few reasons:

1) To hide consensual sex from a family member or spouse

Shame is a hell of a thing. Some persons instead of admitting when they have fallen prey to their emotional desires or sexual feelings, will lie, cry, and plead the blood of Jesus against their consensual  partner in a tryst.

How could a woman fall for her gardener? How could the person who attends church religiously with their family, have sex with a man of cloth? How could a student willingly admit that she slept with their teacher for good grades to her parents who have sent her to school?

Once discovered by a third party, a woman may blurt out rape, or be pressured to say that they have been violated to alleviate the shame felt from the sexual association. Men if you have more to lose than the woman when having sex- Walk away!

2) “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

When breaking off a relationship, tact is not a bad thing. Vindictiveness spawned by a bad break up is a common factor that should actually leave men quaking in their shoes. Men, in situations where you are plainly wrong, such as cheating, abuse, etc- You leave yourselves vulnerable and open to attack.

Rape is a crime that often rests on credibility- it is hard to disprove even with physical proof of sex whether a woman has been raped, because there is a mental element of consent, or lack thereof that is essential for the act to be considered a crime . A “Tough back” man is no match for a crying woman on the stand in court. Men embattled in a divorce, beware! Are you fighting for custody of your kids when you have moved on and have a new girlfriend or baby momma? Beware!

“Payback is really a *****”- And the false rape claim is seen as justified punishment for a wandering spouse.

3) The woman is unstable or is a chronic liar

Sex is not going anywhere. Men before jumping into bed, find out more about the person you would like to bed.  A first name and marital status is not good enough. Some ppl are crazy and some others are simply waiting for the opportunity to bed someone of influence so that they can use the art of blackmail to get what they want. Dating before sealing the deal is not a bad move- you may save yourself the trouble of being labeled as a sexual predator in the future.

Women can use a rape claim to their advantage. Remember that once a report is made, you are arrested by CISOCA with no immediate prospects of bail. The more gruesome the details given by the woman, the lesser your chances of receiving bail within a couple months.

Jamaica doesn’t test for DNA to prove that sex with an accused person did not occur- Do not be fooled by these crime shows on TV- doesn’t apply in our context, so it is harder to eliminate a man as a suspect once the accusation is made

Even if you beat the charge, being accused of rape attaches a stigma or stench to your name that is near impossible to get rid of.  Men take heed and beware!

kymberli.whittaker@gmail.com

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT- The Key to Jamaica’s Violent crime problem

by: Kymberli Whittaker

Conflict occurs daily. As individuals with distinct personalities, thought processes, mannerisms and desires, interact with persons different from themselves. it is understandable how conflict arises but how we choose to manage disputes however may be the difference between life and death, and has a direct correlation on our crime rate.

Jamaicans simply do not like to talk and reason, especially our men. It is an accepted saying that “wi head hot” or “when wi vex, wi ignorant”, and when we are in this state essentially anything can happen to the person at the receiving end of our wrath, but this simply cannot continue to be the case.

There has been some push over the years to encourage conflict management within our educational institutions with the utilization of Guidance counselors, peer counselors and mediation offered through the Dispute Resolution Foundation. However those at a high risk of committing violent crime are not in school.  Many are school drop outs who tend to live in inner-city areas with scarce resources and they have nothing constructive to do for the most part with the 24 hours that pass each day.

These disenfranchised persons are so angry- angry at not having enough to  eat, angry at not being able to find a job, if they seek one, that can cover all their expenses, and angry at persons in our authority who seem not to care about their welfare.

When the larger society sees a man kill another man for stepping on his “Jordans” on “Clarkes”, we look in dismay and awe and ask why. But to the man who saved for months to own only that pair of shoes, cleaned it to go to an event to floss, gain the attention of girls, or sometimes even borrowed the shoes to party and be a king for a night to escape his dismal reality, this accidental act of messing up his shoes is seen as one thing only- a “diss” or violation that the other person has to pay for- even with his life.

It is astounding how many criminals cannot read and write in a functional manner. Reasoning abilities are heightened through educational stimulation which many of them lack. To aggravate this situation is the fact that the gun in or society is a symbol of power, and this power placed in the hands of persons with poor reasoning skills is a recipe for disaster. Many of these persons also have nothing living for, and as such they do not fear death, but see it as a way of life. At least one person is shot in downtown per day. Yet the same persons directly affected by violence still choose to fight fire with fire, thus perpetuating this vicious cycle.

In order to fight this violent crime wave sweeping our nation, the disenfranchised need see their life as having value, and school dropouts especially need to be targeted through social initiatives, to let them know that there is hope. Job creation, remedial school enrollment and functional literacy are the preventative initiatives which have to be vigorously pursued by our government.  We also need to drive home to our men that it is ok to talk, as without these changes in our hot spots conflict will continue, and crime will not decrease.

August 20, 2015

Sex Offenders: Do you really know your "neighbour"?

 by: Kymberli Whittaker

Do you know how many sexual offenders, rapists or child molesters live in your neighbourhood? Contrary to the belief of some persons, many sexual offenders and predators don’t live only behind zinc fences and in garrison communities, they also live behind pretty walls, automatic gates and well trimmed hedges.  They could be your friendly neighbor, extra-lesson teacher for your kids, Grocer and even your co-worker and unbeknownst to you they lurk, plan and plot to commit sexually motivated crimes on a day to day basis.

Unfortunately we cannot go into a person’s mind and know the perverted thoughts they harbour and prevent them, but as a nation we should have the power to reduce the amount of dastardly acts by being informed and acting accordingly to protect ourselves and our family from persons who look so innocent but have a convicted criminal record for committing a sexual offence, especially against children.

There has been much debate and discussion over the years about the creation of a Sex Offenders’ Registry to track local offenders. The Sex Offenders' Registry was established as a part of the Sexual Offences Act which was passed into law in October 2009.  However, the regulations for the Registry were tabled in November 2012 but were not put to use because of the absence of a database.  In May 2014, we were told by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Peter Bunting  that the data system to facilitate the Registry was complete and work was to begin to get the stakeholders up to date.

This is awesome news that we are actually making headway after almost 5 years of waiting, however I am concerned about its effectiveness once implemented as this is a collaborative effort between several Government agencies. Our courts need to have efficient reporting procedures and as an entity steeped in the paper or hard copy mentality, they will have their work cut out for them especially as it relates to sending the necessary information for the previous convicts. For this Registry is to work, we need to establish a proper system of entering information on the offender within a timely basis in order to facilitate efficient dissemination.

I anticipate that with this Registry we will be able to see the communities where most offenders live and try to stage an intervention and  if possible to attack the root cause of the problem and prevent others  from walking down that road of perpetuating sexual abuse towards others.

Hopefully the fear of having their name, address, alias, photograph, date of birth and places frequented placed on a list will detract many from committing these type of crimes, and for those who have have already offended, the fear will keep them in line. Sexually motivated crimes are high on the list on crimes where re-offending takes place and this has been ignored for many years, as we falsely hope that the persons released just change their ways and choose not to re-offend. and this is ludicrous. There is no evidence that they receive counseling while incarcerated or special help to understand the issue and prevent it from taking place which helps to contribute to the cycle. 

Now as we know the group JFJ is the Champion for the protection of the rights of different categories of criminals, and they have posited that  “people have served their time and done their punishment”, yet we would be “stigmatizing them and leaving them vulnerable” if their information is made available to the Public.  However on speaking on behalf of my law abiding citizens, I say that  for too long our rights have been ignored, abrogated and treated with disdain. We deserve the right to at least to know how  many sex offenders live where we live; live where we send our children to school,  as  some of our kids have to walk to school daily.  So far we have been taking risks without knowing the odds, and we should be able to take calculated risks and not leave things like safety up to chance.

If the Government is afraid of crimes being perpetrated against convicted persons who have served their time and now roam the streets, this is indeed a valid concern, as Jamaicans really have little tolerance of persons even just accused of rape (although it would seem that persons of the higher echelon are able to get rid of this stain and be accepted with open arms by many upstanding citizens), however knowledge is power and I believe this knowledge can empower us. Names can be withheld from the general public  but be of use to other agencies where this information relating to character is crucial. Also persons who are sex offenders should be prevented from entering certain occupations where they may be placed in a compromising position based on their history and predilections .

This Registry is important  and once implemented will play a  critical part in  Jamaica's development. I am no longer patiently waiting, but I am anxious to see what our Government is coming with, and what terms and conditions will be attached to the implementation. I want to "know" my neighbour. Do you?