Haitian Football Federation (HFF) president Dr Yves ‘Dadou’ Jean-Bart has been banned for life by Fifa, after being found guilty of ‘systematic sexual abuse against female football players between 2014 and 2020’. The decision was released today by the adjudicatory chamber of Fifa’s Ethics Committee, which also imposed a 1,000,000 …
Read More »Fifa suspends Haitian football president due to allegations of sexual abuse against minors
Haitian Football Federation (FHF) president Yves Jean-Bart was provisionally suspended by Fifa today for 90 days, due to allegations of sexual abuse against minors at Haiti’s national training centre—which was first unearthed last month by the UK Guardian newspaper. The 72-year-old Jean-Bart, who is nicknamed ‘Dadou’, was one of several …
Read More »Dear Editor: Is Children’s Authority advocating child beating and encouraging victim blaming?
“In one ad, the Authority states: ‘Ensure children are appropriately dressed, to avoid exposing them to unwarranted attention from predators’. This message places the blame for sexual assault on the child’s appearance. “Surely this cannot apply to the babies, toddlers, children and teens assaulted in their homes, by trusted adults! …
Read More »Noble: T&T must address childhood trauma, or risk being outnumbered by criminals
Trinidadians are amazing people. Glorifying each raid led by Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith, we ignore his 21 November prophecy, in Chaguanas, of 100,000 new criminals in the next five years. “It is really important for us… to look at secondary crime prevention… If we do not deal with this …
Read More »Team Thema: No comment; Gymnast focuses on TTGF battle as former doctor jailed for up to 175 years
Trinidad and Tobago gymnast Thema Williams will not comment on the sex scandal that has engulfed her former United States coach John Geddert and his Twistars USA Gymnastics Club doctor Larry Nassar. Geddert, who coached USA’s gold medal-winning London 2012 Olympics team, was Williams’ coach in the lead-up to the …
Read More »Fryea’s Advice: Does your priest or pastor prey? It’s time to confront sex abuse in church
In a recent address to our nation, Prime Minister Keith Rowley encouraged us as a people to do our part in curbing criminal activities in our country. As a result of that clarion call, I have decided to shine a light on a dark issue that has been affecting our …
Read More »Daly Bread: The self-esteem crisis; why our “passes factory” schools are not helping
For many years I have described the low self-esteem plaguing many of our youngsters and its relationship to violent crime and anti-social behaviour. The now widespread fighting in schools is a related phenomenon. Much of my personal knowledge of the self-esteem crisis comes directly from dialogue with some youngsters to …
Read More »Dear Editor: MP Olivierre should stop politicking with child welfare and corporal punishment
“School violence in Trinidad and Tobago did not start with Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s term of office as Education Minister. That is a false premise, and when you start with a false premise, your argument is dead in the water.” In the following Letter to the Editor, novelist and social activist Merle …
Read More »Suffer the children: Some changes at Children’s Authority but protection challenges remain
Will the recently announced Board of Management of the Children’s Authority be able to rise to the challenge of resolving the many problems that have plagued the organisation over its two years of operation? SHEILA RAMPERSAD concludes her investigation into whether the Authority is fulfilling its promise. Among the Authority’s …
Read More »Suffer the children: Turbulence and threats; under-fire director Noel tries to tighten reins
At the end of two turbulent years of existence, the Children’s Authority was shaken by the launch of an investigation into the questionable decision taken by Director Safiya Noel to “adopt” without observing the normal protocols a teenage boy who had been assigned to the Authority’s care. SHEILA RAMPERSAD continues …
Read More »Suffer the children: How the empowered Children’s Authority is failing T&T
Operationalised in May 2015, the Children’s Authority marks its second anniversary this month. SHEILA RAMPERSAD has been looking at what impact it had in confronting the bogey of child abuse and whether returns match expenditure. This is the first installment of a three-part series. Parts Two and Three will be …
Read More »Letter to the Editor: The real discipline problem; Govt must take steps to train T&T’s parents
“Our big problem is that we abolished corporal punishment but did not put anything else in its place. Our children are, therefore, operating in an environment where there is, in effect, no consequence for bad behaviour. That has resulted in a general breakdown of discipline, nationwide. “Discipline is much more …
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