The Editor, Sir:

The articles 'Rampin' Shop - musical poison' and 'Distorted desires, lost childhood', appearing side by side on the Opinion page of The Sunday Gleaner of February 1, were absolutely worrying. They called our attention to the crude realities our young people face daily, not a report but the writers' own disgust and confusion.

The alarming situation was explored at 'Woman 2008' in November in one of Woman Inc's presentations in Solutions Forum The Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama. There, many of the issues raised by both Esther Tyson and Glenda Simms in their articles were addressed.

Violence against women

Presenter at the forum, Marcia Higgins, child advocate, commented on the increasing number of cases of violence against women and girls and made the point that such violence also has serious impact on our boys. In offering solutions and hope, she called on those in charge of our government to take a strategic business approach to funding social intervention. This was one of the most critical needs for finding solutions for our social problems and sustaining the gains. She suggested that a worthwhile approach would be to use lessons learnt from successful change strategies such as those used in the historic Obama campaign - creative use of technology, imaginative and practical policy changes, implementation by young people who then become part of the solution. The plan, she emphasised, must be structured, realistic and constantly evaluated.

Deviant social behaviour

Other presenters at the forum were a school prefect and a guidance counsellor, who also spoke of deviant social behaviour of adults with children, similar to that described by Glenda Simms. They dared to hope that others would use personal intervention as they had successfully reduced fear among peers, fear of older men in the communities and fear of abduction. Daring to begin the 'conversation' as a friend, they felt, was a good start. Like Esther Tyson, principal of Ardenne High School, they called on us to care enough to take a stand.

We must support the forthright views and outrage of Tyson and the call for drastic action made by Glenda Simms. Our government cannot leave this problem to well-wishers but must apply legislation to ban the playing of vulgar lyrics. There must be more vigilant censorship. Daggering cannot be on any chart as a category for best music. Nor can Rampin' Shop be voted on FAME FM in its vote for favourite song.

I am, etc.,

P. MAIR

pmair@cwjamaica.com