‘Our grief must become action’

WESTERN BUREAU:

Jamaicans are being challenged to break the culture of silence surrounding the abuse of children, with Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, minister of state in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, declaring that communities often see the warning signs long before the police do.

Dalrymple-Philibert’s impassioned appeal came as 10-year-old Shani Coke, who was raped and murdered in her community of Troy, Trelawny, was being laid to rest.

“[The] police cannot know; they don’t live there with us, not all the time. It is our responsibility to stand up,” Dalrymple-Philibert told mourners.

The member of parliament for Trelawny South said Coke’s death must not be allowed to become another horrific crime that generates outrage, headlines and a funeral, only to eventually fade from public consciousness.

“Let us refuse to make Shani’s death just become another headline, another investigation, another funeral, and then what? A forgotten case,” she pleaded.

“We owe children safety. We owe them dignity. We owe them protection, and we owe them justice.”

Dalrymple-Philibert, who spoke both as the constituency’s political representative and a mother, said she struggled to find words as she contemplated a child who should have been preparing for another year of school, playing with friends and enjoying her family.

Instead, mourners had gathered to bury her.

“She was only 10 years old,” she said.

“No parent should ever have to bury a child. No family should ever have to live with the memory that their little girl was subjected to violence and cruelty before her life was taken from her.”

‘Shame and disgrace’

She also delivered an unequivocal message – that the shame surrounding sexual violence must never be placed on its young victims.

“This was not Shani’s fault. She did not cause this, and she did not deserve this. The shame and disgrace belongs to the person who committed the crime,” she said.

However, Dalrymple-Philibert said mourning Coke was not enough. She challenged parents, neighbours and other community members to become more vigilant about the adults around children and to report suspicious behaviour, rather than remaining silent until tragedy strikes.

“When you see a man looking at a little girl or touching her or doing something like that, do not become silent and wait until something is wrong and bawl out afterwards,” she said.

“We see it before the police because we are in the communities.”

She said the responsibility to protect children begins in their homes and extends into shops, streets, schools, public transportation and every space in which children interact with adults they have been taught to trust.

“We must have the courage to confront the culture of silence that allows abuse to remain hidden. Our institutions and the police can’t do that alone. It begins with us right in the communities,” she said.

Dalrymple-Philibert said the Government also had a responsibility to adequately resource the police and strengthen the justice system, so that crimes could be properly investigated and perpetrators brought before the courts.

However she repeatedly returned responsibility to the community, arguing that law enforcement cannot be everywhere, and residents should not ignore behaviour that places children at risk.

While Coke’s life could not be returned to her, Dalrymple-Philibert said her death could force Jamaicans to fight harder for children in their homes, communities and schools, particularly those whose abuse may be occurring unseen or unreported.

She offered solidarity to Shani’s mother, sisters, grandparents and other relatives, saying condolences alone were inadequate for the enormity of their loss.

In closing her tribute to the 10-year-old, the state minister left Troy with a challenge.

“My honest prayer this morning in this community, in this constituency, in this country, is that our grief becomes action,” she said.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com