meet the author

What so many people around the world easily recognise as child abuse, many Jamaicans continue to refer to as ‘discipline’. TOO NORMAL focuses on the inhumane endangerment of Jamaican children by adults; both parents and guardians. Ten, real life stories recounted by adults, who all had horrifying and traumatic experiences while growing up, at the hands of those meant to watch over and protect them. Mothers, who are usually kind and nurturing, are seen in a surprisingly different light. Children, so afraid that a loved one would kill them if they stayed, unable to leave because they had no other options. Some of their stories also show the sad reality of what happens in a household with a parent feeling alone and burdened in the absence of any support.

It is the reality of a lot of children around the world, and Jamaica is no different. Take the time to delve into the horror stories, too scary to believe but definitely not to be ignored.

What would you do if your body had been violated? Would you have the will, the energy, and the drive to survive? What if the person who violated you believed that he was doing the right thing? After all, society had provided him with reasoning for his beliefs. What would you do if someone threatened to rape you and you had nowhere or no one to turn to, no one or system to protect you? 

When Rape Becomes Acceptable deals with the issues surrounding corrective rape in Jamaica. It follows the lives of ten women who were victims of corrective rape and illustrates how each woman or her loved ones is dealing with what happened. Some of these women had the will to survive, not in the sense that they are flourishing, but they continue to live, hiding in the shadows, hiding from society who they really are; the fear of being outed again and being subjected to another instance of “corrective rape” determining how they live their lives. However, some of them were not so “lucky”. They didn’t have the strength to deal with or come to grips with what happened to them, so instead of having to bear the burden of what happened, they decided to end the pain and the agony as it was much easier than continuing to live. Join them as each woman tells you her story and opens up her life, her scars, her pain, her suffering as she tries to cope in a society that has not only failed to protect her but has also given rise to the violation of her body.