(FP)

The local media were today tossed a brickbat by Minister of Family, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, for sometimes carrying inappropriate advertisements in the newspapers.

Highlighting one such ad, a Mega 6 jackpot centre spread, which appeared in yesterday’s Daily Nation edition, Dr. Byer Suckoo expressed her abhorrence, as well as that of her Ministry. 

“I am calling on the media to be more sensitive and recommit themselves to their social responsibility by acknowledging the enormous influence they have on social development and on creating awareness…,” she stated.

She opined that there were subliminal messages in the picture of the pregnant woman baring her belly with the caption “Expect big things…” and suggested that it was an example of the correlation that committed women to an inferior status.

“Some may feel I am reading too much into it, but we have to be sensitive that these things are ongoing and it is just a way to numb our sensitivities. If we allow such, we will allow others and then we may even turn a blind eye to other forms of exploitation and human trafficking,” Dr. Byer Suckoo said.

Her strong comments came today as she addressed a workshop at the Warrens Office Complex to finalise the protocol for the treatment of victims of human trafficking.

She stressed that human trafficking must be prevented, as well as the mindset that had become entrenched in our society which allowed persons, including advertisers and media personnel, to exploit women. “…Because the rest of the world may be doing it and sanctioning it, we do not have to stand for it. We in Barbados have never allowed ourselves to be led by what is happening elsewhere in the world. We have had an independent voice and we do not have to accept practices that are ongoing elsewhere in the world,” Dr. Byer Suckoo said.

saustin@barbados.gov.bb

Pin It on Pinterest