Mentors, gay advocates, pastors, and dons in some of Jamaica’s toughest inner-city communities are among those entering into relationships with boys who are being lured into sexual perversion from a very young age.
According to a former behavioural change specialist who worked with the LGBTQ community for 15 years, many of these boys are from impoverished communities. They are being preyed upon by wealthy men who promise them material things.
“You also have those [boys] who are from the upper echelons, but their hunger for success, for prominence, for spotlight, for attention has made it easier for these people to prey on them,” explained the specialist, who will not be named to protect her identity.
She noted that several civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are among those pushing young boys to embrace the LGBTQ lifestyle. International organisations generally fund these local entities, which target schools and community groups where children can be found.
“One of their mandates is to use human rights as a tool to advance their agenda. They do this in the form of various interventions, to include mentorship programmes, skills development training, grant funding, advocacy, and lobbying. What they do is that they would invite them in their spaces, and in inviting them in their spaces, they would initiate them, and they would initiate them by offering them scholarships and grants. Sometimes they would even take them overseas; they would also find employment for them. They would also give them assistance, but it comes at a price,” she explained.
Some of the boys are targeted, from early in high school, by men who seek to mentor them. Because of the affluence and influence of these men, they are trusted by school administrators and parents. Some, noted the specialist, are managing directors, programme coordinators, executive directors, and presidents of well-known organisations. Some of the boys do become uncomfortable when they realise the motives of these men; however, for fear of retribution, they keep quiet.
“Because they hold great power and influence, many of these boys are afraid to speak out,” she said.
Some of the boys, upon leaving school, are placed in apartments that are paid for by these older men. They often assume the role of a sex slave, as they are made to satisfy the sexual pleasures of several men.
“When they go to a household where they have pool, where they even have helpers, where they can get vehicles to drive, where everything is remote, they are glad for these opportunities, and as a result, they fall into the trap; they fall into the snares. Many of them regret it because it is short-lived,” said the behavioural change specialist.
Some of them are given opportunities to travel overseas, get well-paying jobs, and are even given asylum in other countries after they have been fully initiated into the lifestyle.
The specialist, who had counselling sessions with abused children, also found that some of the children were abused by men in their own families, such as their fathers, uncles, and older brothers. Others were abused by dons and influential people in their communities. Because of the abuse of trust and power, they have been mentally scarred and are angry.
“The children are crying out for help. They have been molested, but because it comes with a stigma and they are discriminated against, and because of how society looks at this, they are not going to come and tell you that they were molested. Because of shame and the embarrassment, many of them keep quiet,” she found.
Based on what she observed, she now cautions parents to be vigilant and not base their confidence in people based on the fact that they are influential and have a good job. She finds that many parents are being deceived, and because of their naivety, they are allowing their children to be exposed to danger. She also wants parents to seek God for discernment so they can easily identify those with unrighteous agendas.