By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY 85 to 90 percent of inmates at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDOCS) experienced abuse as children, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis revealed yesterday.

Mr Davis said the findings came from a prison survey, although he did not specify when it was conducted.

Prison Commissioner Doan Cleare also could not confirm which survey the Prime Minister was referring to, noting that several surveys had been conducted recently.

He said 1,569 inmates are currently housed at BDOCS.

Despite this, Mr Davis said the survey underscores the need for early intervention to help reset the mindset of abused children and potentially alter their life paths.

He called this a key factor in addressing crime, noting that “one of our major challenges with crime today is a result of how young people have been treated and abused as a child”.

“What we’ve discovered is that an abused child, without intervention, becomes a dangerous adult,” the prime minister added. “And when we took a survey in our institution, prison institution, we find that near 85 percent to 90 percent of the persons in prison, they were abused as a young child, and so that intervention is required.”

Mr Davis made these remarks in response to questions about the need for more youth opportunities in Cat Island at the island’s Business Outlook yesterday.

He highlighted recent initiatives aimed at youth, including the National Youth Guard Programme and the government’s apprenticeship programme, which engages the private sector to provide work opportunities for young people.

However, he acknowledged that challenges persist regarding the choices young people make.

“And so we’re having a lot of mentoring programs going on,” Mr Davis added. “What we’re discovering as well, is that many of our young people have been having mental issues, and we have just passed a new Mental Health Act to to have it appreciated that because a person has a mental issue doesn’t mean that that they should be ostracized, or they’re no longer humans.”

Mr Davis compared mental health issues to physical ailments, saying they are akin to having “the flu” or diabetes and should be treated with dignity.