> “If you look at our murder rate, the
> average age of Bahamian murderers is
> between 16 and 24. I am convinced
> through my work in The Family, around
> the country, that it’s a hidden
> epidemic, that we’re not paying
> attention to early childhood sexual
> abuse, incest and that’s wreaking
> havoc on our country. The new theory
> isn’t ‘what have you done’, but ‘what
> happened to you?’ We now believe that
> people who are traumatised continue
> producing trauma.”

While this may be a factor in the equation, what study group did Dr. Allen use to draw this conclusion?. And if this is the major factor that causes murder in this country, is it the same in Jamaica, Trinidad, major cities in the United States and now even Britain, yes London where little teenage boys are stabbing each other to death at epidemic rates. Yes, murder is a learned behavior. And there is more correlation between violent movies games, music that young people are exposed to. Its called channeling. Many were designed for that specific purpose. And when mixed with drugs and alcohol. Many will admit they cannot recall the specific moments when the actual murder occurred.

Hatians must be the most abusive then. Get them out of our country and watch how greatly the crime rate diminishes.

Future actually the majority of violent crimes that are committed in the Bahamas are by Bahamian males and in some cases Bahamian females as well. Yes Haitians commit some of the crimes that we see in our country like drug dealing and human smuggling however, you cannot deny that crimes such as murder, rape and armed robbery are committed by young Bahamian men.

Incest (though not right) is more common in several Family Island communities. Yet their murder rate is zero. Not just over one year, but over decades. Tell the good. Doctor to dispense of this garbage and go do some proper research. Hint: many of the murders are ‘hits’/ executions where there is little or no correlation between the killers and the victims except they may be in warring gangs or fighting for drugs turf

So nothing of the correlation between beating kids and violence?

A screwed up child becomes a screwed up adult, but we know this already!

> Of these findings, Dr Allen said:
> “We’ve found there’s a powerful
> connection between early childhood
> sexual abuse and late teenage year
> murders… If a kid is abused sexually,
> between one and seven years-old, they
> have a high rate of violent crimes in
> the late teenage years, early 20s.

The factor(s) that are causing murder had to have been introduced into the (black) Bahamian society within the past ten-twenty years when the incidence of murder became epidemic. Bahamians, like other blacks, endured .hundreds of years of slavery where women were raped, married women even, in front of their husbands and children. Male slaves were forced to breed and be separated from their children and there was always physical abuse, including lynchings, mutilations and hangings. Murder among the slaves was a rare occurrence. And even after slavery, with the continued abuse and discrimination, the spraying with fire hoses, the dog attacks, the destruction of property, the cross burnings. So again the good doctor is asked what sample did he use? Does data reflect that there is an increase in incest, child abuse, and murder? And if he did take a sample of murderers, what portion of them fit into this category. And, as an alternative, why did murder not manifest itself in other (Family island) communities where these characteristics are also present?