For Adrumea, life today is far different than it was just a year and a half ago. Back then the 24-year-old said she was a lesbian.
In an interview with The Bahama Journal on Thursday, she said that chapter of her life started many years ago.
“At five years old, I was molested by a very close female family member. At age nine, I began smoking and drinking. When I grew older, I began fornicating and eventually entered a lesbian relationship,” Adrumea explained.
“Rejection led me to those things. All of this started breaking down my body. I started suffering illnesses. And then I said if I want to live and make it, I have to cut these things off.”
Sheena’s story is much the same.
She said for “quite some time”, she practiced prostitution and for a few months, lesbianism.
“I just wanted things – money and so forth,” she said.
“I was in and out of work-and so I turned to that type of lifestyle for some sort of security, I guess. At the time, there were also persons younger than me – 13 year-olds – doing this same sort of thing. They wanted to stop, but they never stopped. After trying all those things and they didn’t work I gave my life to Christ.
The women were among the young people who gathered for a press conference on Wednesday during which time concerns were raised about deviant behaviour among young people – with a special focus on young women and girls.
Parents, pastors and leaders of local youth groups also showed up to take a stand against anti-social behaviour like incest, molestation and abuse.
Officials say at-risk youths are those whose academic and social development have been significantly impaired due to serious behavioral challenges; youths who constantly exhibit delinquent behaviour and those who may be potential candidates for juvenile detention or incarceration.
Officials say within this category also fall those who are so challenged that they must be rescued from themselves.
Revealing the findings and concerns of an interim report of the National Youth Advisory Council, Pastor Mattie Nottage, who heads the Council, stressed that the positive inroads that today’s young people are making are now subject to challenges like teenage pregnancy.
According to Pastor Nottage, for every 5,000 babies born in The Bahamas, almost 20 percent are born to females between 10 to 19.
The Council Chairman said studies show that in The Bahamas, three out of every 10 females who visit doctors are diagnosed with some form of sexually transmitted disease (STD).
She said incest; rape and molestation have reached cataclysmic proportions.
The Council’s report said there has been a 14 percent increase in female offenders in the Juvenile Courts in recent times; that females are becoming more actively involved in gangs – namely lesbian gangs – and that there are high rates of sexual, emotional, alcohol and drug abuse among young people.
“Parents, it’s time to wake up,” Pastor Nottage said. “Pastors, it’s time to take a stand and declare that righteousness exalts the nation and sin is a reproach to any people. There is a cry coming from our nation’s youth and the cry is for help.
“We refuse to accept homosexuality and lesbianism as a normal lifestyle. We will not lower our moral standards for a few misguided individuals who are confused as to who they are, why they are here and where they are going. We do, however, empathize with every young person [who] has been raped, molested or lured into a negative way of life.”
The Youth Advisory Council has suggested the establishment of youth programmes specifically designed to educate, rehabilitate and transform young persons who have been exposed to negative lifestyles.
“The world recently raised its eyebrows at the catastrophic events surrounding Hurricane Katrina,” Pastor Nottage said. “The recent tsunami ravaged Indonesia and caught the attention of an international audience, but in our opinion, an even greater tragedy looms among our nation’s youth.
“But we will be silent no more. We refuse to accept anything that is thrown at us, such as drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, or anything else that adds to the moral decay of our nation. We will not compromise our standards, morals or family values.”
Officials say plans are underway to implement a pilot youth programme for at-risk females “in the not too distant future”.
A similar programme was launched for at-risk young men earlier this year. Officials say the second phase of that project will begin later this month in North Andros.
The Council is also moving ahead with plans to put in place a consultative Committee to address all outstanding issues facing Bahamian youths, particularly young women.
“Programmes, strategies and procedures on these matters are also going to be tabled by this Committee and a subsequent action Committee has been formed by pastors, youth pastors and youth leaders,” Pastor Nottage revealed.
The Council is further calling on the prime minister and the Christian Council to announce another National Day of Prayer. It also asks authorities to enforce the laws pertaining to the protection of the nation’s youths.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Neville Wisdom indicated that the government is serious about addressing anti-social behaviour in young people
“We are going to assault this problem,” Minister Wisdom assured. “We are going to address this problem and we are going to solve this problem.
“But for every at-risk young man or woman, there are literally thousands of well-behaved positive young people-We want our youths to know that there is opportunity for change; there is an alternative; there is another way and all of us are here to help.
“We are here to provide a lighthouse and so to the young women who think they need a second and third chance, who may have been misguided or abused, get ready. There are many opportunities to get help.”
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
