Rapist behind bars but so too is his victim
January 29, 2007
A man was recently put behind bars for a brutal rape three years ago, but his beastly act has also left his victim, seven years old at the time, in a prison of sorts.
Sushan (not her real name), now 10, still carries in her eyes the pain of the violence perpetrated against her innocent childhood. So traumatised has she been since the incident, which hospitalised her for weeks, that after three years of counselling she is now being referred to a psychiatrist for further help.
Not only has she become reserved and withdrawn but she also displays aggression such as fighting at school, telltale signs of her trauma, experts say.
She still finds it difficult to recount the details of her ordeal, fearing that the rapist was just around the corner.
"At nights when I am in the bathroom bathing there is a window there and I can see like a shadow passing and then I get afraid that him coming back," Sushan said softly.
Now she avoids being by herself, especially in the bathroom at nights.
Last Friday, Sushan had an opportunity to let go of her fear as she along with 29 other children, ages 8 to 16, spent a therapeutic day at the Serenity Park in Old Harbour, St Catherine for a time of healing from the various traumas they have experienced.
Counsellors from the Victim Support Unit, a portfolio under the Restorative Justice Programme, took the children to the nature park for a time of 'burning bridges', which featured a 'healing circle' where the kids were encouraged to speak freely about how they felt.
A balloon release ceremony followed in which the children were asked to put in writing the pain they were feeling and affix it to a helium-filled balloon, This was then released as they stood on a bridge in the park, symbolising the letting go of the pain and hurt. On leaving the bridge they were each given a token which was to symbolise future hope.
Nesta Haye, acting senior coordinator of the programme said a number of the children at the session had experienced either murder, incest or carnal abuse traumas.
In some instances, there were those children who, like Sushan's 12-year-old sister, were there not because they were direct victims but because they were traumatised by what happened to a close relative....
Author: Ingrid Brown
Source: Jamaica Observer
