Michael Abrahams | A closer look at paternal discrepancy in Jamaica

It has recently come to light that Jamaica’s paternal discrepancy rate is among the highest in the world. Paternal discrepancy refers to a situation in which a child is assigned to a man who is not their biological father. The term is often used interchangeably with ‘paternity fraud’, but not all cases of discrepancy are deliberately fraudulent.

An ongoing study at The University of the West Indies (UWI), conducted by anthropologist Dr Herbert Gayle, shows a paternity discrepancy rate of close to 20 per cent in Jamaica. This means that one out of every five Jamaican fathers is unknowingly fathering a child that is not biologically theirs.

This high rate of paternal misassignment tells us a lot about our society. It reflects our mindset, our attitudes, and our sexual behaviour, especially that of our women. It reveals some realities that some may feel uncomfortable accepting.

First, it is a reflection of the fact that we live in a polyamorous society, meaning it is common for Jamaicans to be in relationships with more than one person simultaneously. This is our reality. Jamaican women often harshly criticise our men and their sexual behaviour. We are often stereotyped as ‘gyalises’ (men who have relationships with several women), and Jamaican women chide us for this. Indeed, polygyny (men having more than one female partner) is common in Jamaica, and Jamaican men often have ‘side chicks’ and children outside their primary relationships. Several have even had more than one woman pregnant at the same time.

NOT AVERSE

But our paternity fraud statistics reveal that our women are not averse to engaging in this type of behaviour, too. The phenomenon of women having children for several different men is not uncommon in Jamaica, and many engage in polyandry (having more than one male partner at a time) and entertain ‘Joe Grinds’ (men on the side). Many Jamaican women are in these relationships for economic reasons, often receiving financial contributions to pay different bills and cover a variety of expenses. Our economy is weak, and even many well-educated and gainfully employed people in this country find it hard to make ends meet, and this situation undoubtedly helps to drive these relationships. And when children are born to women involved in these types of relationships, they may be assigned to men who are more able to provide financial support and not necessarily the biological fathers.

The high paternal discrepancy rate also reflects our indiscipline. We are not a disciplined society. We see evidence of it on our roads, in our schools, and in our Parliament. Our lack of respect for time has become part of our culture. We see evidence of indiscipline at all levels of our society. And we have developed a high tolerance for corruption and ‘banduluism’.

The deluge of ‘jackets’ in our society also exposes the fact that many people are having sex with more than one partner without barrier methods and other forms of contraception. Indeed, according to our last national reproductive health survey, contraceptive use is on the decline, with 60.6 per cent of females reporting that either they or their partner were using a contraceptive method, compared with 72.5 per cent in 2008. This rate is the lowest reported since our reproductive surveys began. This is cause for concern, as such behaviour places these women, their partners, and the partners of their partners at risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). They put the children that result from these pregnancies at risk too, as STIs can be transmitted to the foetus during pregnancy and to newborn babies as they exit the birth canal.

The prevalence of child-shifting is also partly influenced by the legacy of slavery, as during the transatlantic slave trade, enslaved people were often shifted to different plantations or sold and separated from their families, while some males were assigned to impregnate females, with no regard to family structure. These actions have an impact on our behaviour today.

RELIGIOUS HYPOCRISY

Our high paternal discrepancy rate is yet another statistic that reflects our religious hypocrisy. There are almost 200 countries in the world, but our murder rate is consistently in the top three, our paternal discrepancy rate is one of the highest globally, and over 80 per cent of us are born out of wedlock. However, killing people, deception and having sex with someone other than your marital partner is not in keeping with Christian principles. We love to refer to our country as a Christian country, but it is not. Ours is a country with a lot of churches, where Christianity is the most popular religion, and where we conveniently choose our sins and decide which ones to rebuke (abortion and queerness), and which ones to tolerate (fornication, adultery, deception, aggression and violence).

If you look at our polygamous behaviour, decreased contra-ceptive use, poor economy, indiscipline, and the legacy of slavery that still negatively affects our family structure, our high jacket rate should come as no surprise.

Some argue that many children live their lives as jackets with no adverse consequences. Some are even financially and socially better off than if they were given to their biological fathers. However, the discovery of a jacket can have devastating consequences. In fact, research has found that paternity fraud is the number two cause of murder-suicide in Jamaica.

The prevalence of this phenomenon, combined with its potential to cause severe emotional distress, demands that the issue be addressed. Public education regarding how this behaviour can affect those involved, education relating to contraception and STI prevention, addressing the socialisation of our children, and improvement of our economy are all necessary if the practice is to be cauterised.

And the women who constantly blame men for our societal ills need to take a good look at themselves and their sisters, realise how much this behaviour can traumatise those involved, and be mindful of their actions.

Michael Abrahams is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, social commentator, and human-rights advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or follow him on X , formerly Twitter, @mikeyabrahams.