The March 28 edition of The New York Times describes the growing disconnect between the anti-abortion advocates and the reality of the trauma and impact of sexual abuse on the girl child.

In an article written by Alexi Barrionuevo, a most distressing scenario taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was detailed.

The writer reports that a women's health clinic at the Perola Byington Hospital is the site of young girls playing on the cold tile floors while their mothers wait nervously for the medical attention which their daughters desperately need. All these little girls are victims of sexual abuse and the majority of them are under the age of 12.

The plight of these children was forced on the Brazilian population that has been rocked out of its collective slumber by the well-publicised case of "a nine-year-old girl who aborted twins … after claiming her stepfather raped her".

Nine-year-old's abortion

Tragically, the brutal sexual violation of the child within the confines of her home is a familiar story at the health clinic. While the doctors, nurses and social workers face these tragedies of incestuous rapes and the resultant unwanted pregnancies, the general Roman Catholic population of Brazil turn a blind eye to the reality of the sexual abuse of underage girls.

The shocking story of this frail nine-year-old who had an abortion at one of the 55 approved centres where rape and a risk to the mother's life are grounds for such a procedure has fuelled a frantic debate on abortion in Brazil.

It is ironic, sad and bizarre to learn that "a Brazilian archbishop summarily excommunicated the doctors who performed the abortion and the distressed, guilt-ridden mother of the nine-year-old victim of a rape carried out by the stepfather. The only actor in this tragedy who was not excommunicated by the patriarchs of the Church was the rapist stepfather. He was not seen as deserving of the wrath of the heavenly powers. After all, he is just a man!

In the aftermath and the holy rolling and soul-searching, some of the bishops disagreed with the excommunication of the mother.

Criticised church's stance

The only reported questioning voice in the 'holy noise' was that of the Vatican's top bio-ethics official who criticised the initial stance of the Church and is credited with saying "the credibility of our teaching took a blow as it appeared, in the eyes of many, to be insensitive, incomprehensible and lacking mercy".

While all this debate is taking place over "tea and crumpets", we are told that in Brazil, a country among those with the strictest abortion laws, the number of legal abortions carried out on little girls under 14 years continue to grow and thousands of clandestine abortions are carried out yearly.

In the meantime, the girl child continues to be raped and impregnated by fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, uncles and every other red-blooded male who feels like exercising his right to have sex with anyone he desires - with or without her consent.

The Brazilian tragedy was reported shortly after the wrap-up of the horrific case of the Austrian brute, Josef Fritzi, who imprisoned his daughter in a secret cell in his house for 24 years. During this period, he raped her several times daily and she ended up giving birth to seven children (her sisters and brothers).

This story is perhaps among the worst case of incest and brutality in recorded history.

Here in Jamaica, the local media reported the case of the unnamed businessman who allegedly raped his three young daughters. This case is still before the courts. We await the outcome of this trial.

Fight against inequality

All of these high-profile stories from different corners of the world keep the issue of gender-based violence on the front page of our social consciousness. These stories of incest should force every decent citizen of all societies to take a stance against the continuing inequalities that women continue to experience in societies who have ratified human rights treaties to ensure the equality rights of women and children.

A critical analysis of the impact of incest and rape on the physical, emotional, economic and spiritual well-being of the women in society is an imperative at this time.

Historical and contemporary realities have demonstrated that one of the worst, heinous, secretive and underreported sexual crimes is that which is defined as incest. It took feminist psychologists, sexologists and other progressive human rights actors to clear away the myths, ideology and rationalisation that kept incest in the closet.

Among the works of prominent psychiatrists is the in-depth study of Father-Daughter Incest by Judith Lewis Herman.

Herman incisively critiqued the historical and the misogynistic mindset that covered up the extent of incest and the impact of this crime on the physical, emotional, social and economic condition of countless women and girls in every corner of the global village.

From her academic pursuits and her research, Herman came to understand what she defined as "the vastly elaborated intellectual tradition which served the purpose of suppressing the truth about incest". This tradition, she argues "originated in the works of Sigmund Freud" who is venerated as the father of modern psychology. According to this interpretation of the literature, Freud recognised that at the origin of every case of hysteria in women was "a childhood sexual trauma".

Feminist psychoanalysts and psychologists such as Herman have pointed out to their readers that Freud suppressed this knowledge in order to protect the upper-class family men who were implicated in the incestuous abuse of their offspring. This challenged the established belief system that blamed the poor men and imbeciles for this type of inhumane behaviour.

Here in Jamaica, at every level, we continue to play 'shadow games' with the life experience of girls and women.

Exerting manhood

We spout rhetoric of equality and justice while the men of all caste and class continue to exert their manhood through sexual violence, power and control.

The women who have benefited from their connections to the patriarchs must take some risks and give voice to the voiceless, to the girl child and to the mothers who have no choice but to turn away from the pain in the eyes of their daughters.

It is time for action beyond mere rhetoric and platitudes. Every woman and girl has the God-given right to make decisions about her body.

I have always emphasised to my audiences that "a woman's body is the only piece of real estate on which she owes no mortgage".

It is hers exclusively. It does not belong to her father, her husband, her mother, her church or the State.

Dr Glenda P. Simms is a consultant on gender issues. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.