00:00Speaking in the aftermath of the missing toddler case in Tobago, Dr. Suan Barrett says the
00:06public response may not necessarily signal normalization of violence against children,
00:12but rather a psychological defense mechanism used to cope with repeated trauma and disturbing
00:19realities.
00:20Now I wouldn't agree with you to say that people have become habituated.
00:23We still care very much about our children and our next generation because we rally,
00:27as in the most recent case with this child who we're still looking for, we rally to find,
00:33to solve, to resolve.
00:34But I would say to you that there is a tendency where as it occurs, and one might say, the
00:41psychologist will explain, one might say in order to cope with this additional occurrence,
00:46another occurrence and not lose ourselves, we kind of put it aside.
00:50This is not part of my reality.
00:51I'm not going to concern myself with it.
00:53I'm going to ignore it, which is detrimental.
00:55She says, while speculation surrounding the circumstances of the case should be avoided,
01:01the incident has reignited urgent questions surrounding child protection, child safety,
01:07trauma experienced by affected families, and the line between public scrutiny and public
01:13cruelty.
01:13Now we don't know the specifics of this case, but we do have to worry ourselves as we see
01:19our children being caught up in violent, unfortunate tragedies that then we say, it must be, but
01:28it might just be a symptom of who we are becoming.
01:30According to Dr. Barrett, society must undertake a broader examination of how violence against
01:37children is addressed and understood. She argues that the way people are socialized, including
01:43how they are taught to value or devalue themselves, directly impacts behavioral responses and wider
01:50social attitudes.
01:51The structures in place are starting to manifest. So now I'm just suggesting as a theory,
01:58because I don't know with certainty I have to study it, but I think that if the adults who
02:02have emerged through this kind of structure have never learned about valuation and distinction
02:09of value, then this is why you can just kill a kid.
02:14Dr. Barrett also warns that many young people may increasingly believe that survival belongs
02:26only to the strong, while negative behavior is sometimes associated with attention, status,
02:33or acceptance.
02:33Dr. Barrett to be notorious, to be extreme gives me consequences, almost like a point of
02:40self-actualization. Then why would I want to conform in what is essentially positive freedom?
02:46Why do I want to conform to support community? When I am seeing people are getting financial,
02:53wealth or economic, even if it's an immediate and not sustainable, people have props socially,
02:59they have friends and supporters, I'm going to continue to be the badge on.
03:02Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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