Breaking the cycle of poverty
Published:Tuesday | June 20, 2023 | 12:05 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
Poverty is the root cause of crime, and one related issue which is not discussed enough is the high rate of unplanned and teen pregnancies, especially among the poor. Poverty creates criminals and many develop serious mental issues and carry out the most heinous crimes, as we’ve seen in the news. We must move swiftly to curb these high rates of unplanned pregnancies especially among teens; we must analyse the data and focuses on areas with highest rates. Adolescents, age 10-19, represent 20 per cent of Jamaica’s population and research shows that as much as 40 per cent of women in this group have at least one child by the age of 20. This presents challenging social and public health problems, including mental health. Children born into poverty are at greater risk of developing serious antisocial and psychotic behaviour. A few will find ways to break the cycle, but most won’t.
Some 30 per cent of Jamaican youths are illiterate, they are school dropouts who become detached, unemployed, idle and hopeless. A conservative attitude towards ‘sex ed’ to deal with these issues is archaic and ineffective. The reality is that teens are having sex, they have access to the internet and lack the maturity and understanding to handle the consequences of being sexually active at a young age. The recent horrific murders are a reminder that we must take action now, we are living among some psychotic persons and the thought that they could randomly be beside us in public is frightening. Lisa Hanna made a passionate plea in Parliament recently about the brutal murders, in particular those affecting children; it was heartfelt. We urge government and businesses to invest in more CCTV cameras everywhere, business places, residential complexes, etc. Cameras are worth the investment and may well deter criminals while they aid the police to identify and find criminals quickly.
Government must strengthen the police force to be more visible, effective and responsive. The army can be more effective using the Coast Guard and Air Wing to protect borders against illegal imports of guns and ammunitions; let them put their training to better use. We must also provide greater support in terms of social services and counselling to help the poor, especially those with children. It is our responsibility as a society and we must tackle these problems from different angles, at the same time to get results.
There is need for a comprehensive strategy, an action plan for the short, medium and long term. The same way they found funds to support massive increases for politicians, they can find the funds for urgent social intervention and to fight crime more effectively.
P. CHIN