Tuesday, January 7, 2025

The Editor, Amandala

I would like for the media houses to touch this very important issue that keeps on repeating itself.  

I keep on seeing reports as such. And this is not only distasteful, but it is all of our concern. And I am not just talking about the crime.

A man has raped a girl, and it took her more than a month to make a report. What type of bullsh** is that? Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not condoning unlawful carnal knowledge. But from the time that the crime was committed to the actual point that it was reported, brings up many things that intelligent minds would want to know.

Rape is not like theft or crimes that one can say they forgot or were too busy to report. Rape is a violent crime done to the body of someone. And maybe I can understand if it was done to a child that was too young to know better.

 I will touch a topic that many are afraid or refuse to touch. The police in cases like these need to do some proper investigation; and investigate why it took so long for a person to report a case of rape! We hear the case, “unlawful carnal knowledge”; but at times the police need to look at other issues after the fact that may open a bigger picture of hidden aspects or hidden crimes.

#1. We often see on a weekly basis where a girl under the legal prescribed age of 16 goes missing, only to return home safe; and upon their return nobody questions it.

The law has not, and should have an open definition on 3 sides of a coin, especially when it comes to unlawful carnal knowledge: (A) the alleged victim; (B) the alleged accused; (C) the parents or guardians.

In many of these villages, and even in the city and worldwide, many of these parents/guardians literally pimp/sell/use their children’s body as a financial means. Meaning, they allow relationships with their daughters as long as they are “handled”/get paid. And that’s a crime greater than carnal knowledge; it’s children prostitution. And it’s been happening for years with no type of questions or punishment. (AND WHEN THE MONEY STOPS, OR THERE IS A DISAGREEMENT, THEN WE HEAR SCREAMINGS OF, “OH, MI DAWTA OR GRAND DAWTA UNDER AGE.”) Even senior opticians/doctors/lawyers/policemen, people of all walks of life, have been using the gap within the law to have and get away with literally unlawful carnal knowledge. And this I know for a fact.

With all due respect, and I am sorry for the words, but I also hold no apology for its definition. Young female [genitalia] in Belize is a source of business for years in Belize, and it has been happening in silence for years. And it will not stop until the victim, accused and parents/guardians start to feel the wrath of the law.

Many do not want to touch the topic, but in Belize, as with many countries around the world, most of our pre-teen and teens are very sexually active, with very high and active sex drive. And when these young girls want to [have sex], they will go out and get it no matter what. Why do you think almost every week we see in the news/social media that we have so many girls missing, only to hear later that they were found safe? It has become a SAFETY NET to get away with this very same crime — UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGE.

THIS CHARGE NEEDS TO BE REVISED. THE LAW READS: “NO CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF 16 CAN GIVE CONSENT TO HAVE SEX”.  SO, I BELIEVE THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT LAW.  NOW, BECAUSE OF THE WORDING OF SAID LAW, IT SHOULD BE ADDED THAT ANY CHILD BEING OF SOUND MIND WHO OFFERS HERSELF UP WILLINGLY FOR SEX SHOULD BE ALSO CHARGED AS A CO-CONSPIRATOR OF SAID CRIME; AND ANY PARENT OR GUARDIAN WHO KNEW OF THE SITUATION SHOULD BE BROUGHT ON CHARGES AS WELL.

This is the only way that we can slow down these carnal knowledge crimes. To an extent, I blame the Government, both parties — blue and red; because most of these carnal knowledge cases are here due to poverty and financial constraints. We hear GOB and governments around the world boasting and bragging that poverty is down and that the economy is booming. Booming only for the big wigs. For the most part, unlawful carnal knowledge and children prostitution are due to 1-part poverty, 1-part bad parenting, 1-part child molesters, and 1-part the victim knowing it’s against the law and still giving consent.

We may want to turn a blind eye, both from some politicians to some men cleaning the drains who are literally involved in cradle robbing. We need to be real out here, my people! Lawmakers and law enforcers need to start looking at more than the victim in cases like this that are reported long after the fact. We all know that after a young girl has her first [sexual encounter] and she likes it, she will do whatever she needs to do to get it. They will run away and disappear just to get it, then return home like nothing happened.    

We need to find a way to deal with the root cause. Investigators should push to find the first person who had sex with her; because whoever he is, he is the main contributing factor to the cause of this problem. Raw talk! Even in adults, when they get good cooking, they become so hooked that they neglect everything to get it again. So, just imagine a young teenager with high sex drive.

People, all I am saying is that unlawful carnal knowledge is against the law, and I do believe that it’s a serious crime that we need to deal with. But in order to control it—I say control, because it’s impossible to totally stop it—we must start dealing with negligent parents and the teenager also. It’s a simple thing. If someone allegedly raped you, why take so long to report it? This shows some type of complicity somewhere within the case.

Sincerely,

Eduardo Belize