Social Issues in the Caribbean

SOCIAL ISSUES ARE DEFINED AS BEHAVIOUR THAT:

 A large section of the population thinks is undesirable or unacceptable

 Directly or indirectly affects large numbers of people

 Conflicts with what society generally agrees to be right or good

 Is generally viewed as a problem

 Is not easily solved

 Social issues are complex and difficult to solve.

 Social issues have consequences for society but also affect individuals and families

CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL ISSUES IN THE CARIBBEAN

 teenage pregnancy

 street children

 drug and substance abuse

 juvenile delinquency

 sexually transmitted
 diseases

 child abuse

 domestic violence

 poverty

 inadequate care and abuse of

 the elderly

 human trafficking

 suicide

WHY SOCIAL ISSUES MAY BE DIFFICULT TO SOLVE

 The authorities do not have adequate human and financial resources to deal with it.
 The activity may very attractive to those involved in it (get rich quickly).
 The activity may be very organized (drug trade).
 Legislation to deal with it may not be a strong enough deterrent.
 Law abiding citizens are fearful of cooperating with the authorities in terms of providing information related to the
activity.
 Some individuals adopted an indifferent attitude to the problem.
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 Impact of social issues on the family they may affect the morale and or self-esteem of the family members as they may
become alienated by other members of the society.
e.g., aids, poverty.

 Alienation may lead to an attitude of indifference among family members as result, they may accept the problems
rather than try to deal with them.
e.g., poverty, substance abuse

 Other family members may learn the negative behaviour and the cycle will continue.
e.g., domestic violence, substance abuse.

 The health of family members may be affected.

e.g., stds, substance abuse.

 Some children may be deprived of their parents.

e.g., imprisonment for crime, death from aids.

GORVERNMENT STRATEGIES

 Educating - Educating the citizens on the causes and effects of the problems/issues in order to bring about a change of
attitudes.
 Enacting Laws - Enacting legislation with heavy penalties to discourage people from engaging in some of them.
 Prosecuting -Prosecuting offenders who are involved in social issues which are of a criminal nature.
 Providing – Aiding victims. E.g., welfare payments to the poor, shelters for battered women. Providing home help and
institutionalized care for the aged and those with special needs.
 Consulting - Consulting with and providing resources/assistance to NGOs and other organisations involved with social
issues.
 Seeking – Seeking international technical and financial assistance to deal with the problems.
 Creating - Creating more employment opportunities to prevent people from becoming involved in crime and to
alleviate poverty.

MEDIA AND SOCIAL ISSUE

 Give financial assistance/free advertising to organisations which deal with the issue.

 Adopt a balanced style of reporting social issues.

 Share any useful information gathered from their investigations with the authorities.

 Print or broadcast programmes explaining the causes of social issues and their effects on the individual and society.

 Host call-in programmes to let citizens express their views on the issue.

 Highlight the work of NGOs and community groups which deal with the issue and appeal for support for them.

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

 Juvenile delinquency is the term used to describe antisocial and sometimes criminal behaviour carried out by young
people.
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 Many factors can contribute towards delinquency, such as an abusive home, poor parent to child communication and
negative peer pressure.

 Strategies to help a juvenile delinquent:

 having after school life-skills classes

 arranging parenting skills sessions with a

 psychologist or guidance counsellor

STREET CHILDREN

 Street children are deprived of homes, affection, protection, food and education.

 They suffer poor health and constantly face the threat of violence. they may beg for money and some join gangs
because they feel the need for a family.

 Strategies to prevent children from being on the streets include:

 providing greater numbers of foster parents

 day centres to provide food and health care

 counselling to assist with trauma

 facilities to teach vocational (trade) skills

 specialist educational facilities

 childcare for the children of “street children”

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS

 Sexually transmitted infections (stis) are passed from ones person to another through sexual contact. many
 common stis can be cured. left untreated, some can lead to serious long-term health problems, infertility and even
death.

 Some examples of the more common stis include:

 chlamydia

 genital herpes

 gonorrhoea (the clap)

 hepatitis b

 hepatitis c

 human papillomavirus (hpv/genital warts)

 pubic lice (crabs)

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 scabies

 syphilis

 yeast infections

 HIV

 The most serious sti is the HIV virus which can lead to a person developing aids.

 Ways to prevent stis include:

 sex education

 access to birth control measures

 such as condoms which can reduce infection rates

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 Human trafficking is about moving persons against their will, by force, coercion, or fraud, away from their usual place
of residence to another location. it is most associated with the transport of children and women for the purposes of
forced labour or sexual exploitation.

 The Caribbean region is a location for the supply, transit, and destination for trafficked persons.

 Strategies to combat human trafficking include:

 prevention: educating potential victims about the dangers

 protection: by supporting victims if they act as witnesses
 prosecution: charging those who traffic persons and their clients
 reintegration: counsel victims by providing support services such as shelters, education, financial assistance, and job
placement.

ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES

 There are several alternative lifestyles that are felt by many to be unacceptable.

 For example, people can choose to live a promiscuous lifestyle with many sexual partners.

 Others may choose to be with people of the same sex. these people are called homosexuals.

 Some people see such lifestyles as challenging the accepted and established patterns of family and society.