Kamla worried about porn and youngsters

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says Trinidad and Tobago must pay attention to the prevalence of pornography, marijuana abuse and gambling addiction.

Addressing a UNC town meeting at Tunapuna on April 17, Persad-Bissessar lamented the sexualisation of children, amid a pornography epidemic in TT.

She sought to promote a public discussion of these addictions, plus depression, bipolar illness and suicide.

"I want to deal with three issues tonight – pornography epidemic and sexualisation of children," she said. "Gambling addiction and marijuana addiction, depression, mental illness and suicides."

She blamed a leap in sexual abuse in TT on factors like adults' sexualisation of children and the pornography epidemic.

Persad-Bissessar said childhood innocence was being ruined by an overload of sexual content, namely video games, television shows, cartoons, movies, ads, and social media.

"Individuals are also exposing children to sexually charged conversations, innuendo, music, dancing, and behaviours.

"Thirteen-year-old girls and boys are encouraged to look like sexually active twenty-five-year-olds."

She said, "Pornography addiction is a severe issue that should not be taboo for discussion."

Pornography was readily available on the internet, she said, but was an addiction with debilitating effects.

"In addition to mental issues, socialisation is affected, and individuals' expectations of sexual relationships become skewed, which often leads to sexual violence."

She said pornography was "the fastest-growing addiction in the world" and "a silent epidemic".

Amid sky-rocketing pornography viewing during the pandemic, Persad-Bissessar lamented the "over 2,000 cases of sexual abuse of girls and 500 cases of sexual abuse of boys" made to the Children's Authority in 2020-2021.

Persad-Bissessar said this was an uncomfortable discussion, but was needed so as to reduce sexual crimes.

She invited anyone to talk to the UNC about "social, legislative, and educational interventions" for the pornography epidemic and child sexualisation.

Persad-Bissessar lamented the government had decriminalised marijuana but without requisite controls and had not fully regulated gambling.

"Gambling and marijuana addiction are wreaking destruction in the lives of many young people across our nation."

She said TT lacked marijuana dispensaries and quality controls, leaving people to buy it from street dealers, fuelling gang crime.

"The marijuana is often laced with cocaine, and there is no consistency in the THC levels."

She lamented havoc caused by gambling addiction.

"It is contributing to business bankruptcies, relationship breakdowns, domestic violence, child neglect, mental problems, financial losses and a range of other negative issues."

"Of particular concern are signs that adolescents and young adults are seamlessly transitioning from video gaming to gambling upon reaching the legal age of 18 years and heavy marijuana use."

Mulling these addictions, Persad-Bissessar said the human brain only matures in someone's 20s.

"Concerning gambling, the UNC believes it is time to open the conversation to discuss raising the permissible legal age to participate in gambling to 25 years and over."

She vowed to enact the Gambling Control Act and run a public awareness programmes.

"Concerning marijuana use, the UNC has put out a manifesto for expanding the cannabis industry for revenue generation."

Promising to regulate the industry by proper quality controls and safety standards, she said promised educational programmes so individuals could make a choice that best suited to them.

Persad-Bissessar addressed depression and suicide.

"Suicidal depression involves a kind of pain, terror and hopelessness that is difficult to describe."

This led to a state of numbness, paralysing fear and relentless despair, she said.

"You become a shell of yourself, like a zombie, waking up each day and just waiting to go back to sleep at night.

"And all day you are living in terror as to what will happen in the next hour or day or week. There appears to be hopelessness and nothingness."

This then turns into irritability, nervousness, mood swings, crying, sleeplessness or fatigue, rage, nausea, eating disorders and emotional numbness.

These symptoms then lead to anxiety, depression, loss of mental acuity and social relationships, leading to thoughts of helplessness and suicide.

Persad-Bissessar said depression and bipolar disorder were major contributors to suicides.

"When mental illness is accompanied by alcohol and drug abuse, the risk of suicide and violence against other increases dramatically."

She recalled trying to help a family with a grown son with a serious mental condition, who could not get a care home to accept him due to the risk he posed.

"I also get many requests for financial and psychological assistance from persons suffering from domestic violence, persons who are living in fear because of their sexuality, people with disabilities, parents with children special needs etcetera. People are facing more physical, emotional, and psychological stresses than they ever had.

Inviting a conversation with those present, she said, "We as a society need to have these conversations to protect the mental health of our citizens and bring back happiness to our country."