In the light of the recent incident where a Trinidad and Tobago mother beat her daughter and posted a video of it on Facebook, after she found out that the 12-year-old had sent partially nude pictures to an older boy, the man and woman in the street were asked to share their views:
David Adams, student – ‘I saw the video and I thought the girl deserve the whipping, because for a 12-year-old child to be taking those kinds of photos is very inappropriate. Nothing is wrong with the mother sharing some lashes, because it is her child and she wants her child to do good… However, the Facebook post was embarrassing and could lead to the child wanting to commit suicide.’
Shauncy Henry, student – ‘My view on the topic is that the girl is an adolescent and at her age, she shouldn’t be taking nude pictures of herself. The Facebook post was embarrassing, but the girl definitely deserved to be disciplined.’
Maria Brazil, student – ‘I saw a piece of the video and I agree that the 12-year-old should not have done that, but it is the parents’ responsibility to rear their children. And I understand the girl did something wrong, but the mother acted irrationally when she posted the video on the girl’s Facebook page.’
Nyasha McKenzie, student – ‘What the girl did was highly inappropriate and her mother was not wrong when she whipped her, but posting the video on Facebook was not the best thing to do… you know teenagers sometimes may tend to become suicidal.’
Lloyd Rosman, coconut water vendor – ‘She [the mother] should have talked to the girl and told her what she did was wrong, instead of putting it on Facebook and staining the girl’s character.’
Winston Greaves, parent – ‘I don’t agree with what the child did, but she is a child. The mother should have sat her down and spoken to her about what she did, instead of beating her in such a brutal manner.’
Deochand Ramdin, taxi driver – ‘She had a right to beat her daughter, but it was bad to expose her to the public. The girl may want to commit suicide.’
Desmond Daniels – ‘If the mother had paid more attention, maybe the girl wouldn’t have done that. She [the mother] should have been checking on her. Licks don’t make nobody change. Everybody has to learn from their own experience.’
Shawn James, vendor – ‘A twelve-year-old sending pictures to a boy ain’t right. But instead of beating the girl, the mother should have talked to the girl and find out why she sent the pictures.’
Paul King, disposal engineer – ‘What the girl did was bad, but the mother was wrong for posting the video on Facebook. The beating didn’t make no sense, because the girl is 12 and might want to run away with the man. It [the post] just embarrass the family.’
