Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds is not afraid to have difficult conversations on some issues, including arming children against sexual predators.
During last Friday’s session of the Estimates, the schedule to the Appropriation Bill, 2025 in the Well of the House of Assembly, Symmonds said interfacing with the wider world gave Barbados a chance to reflect on how things were done here and whether they were being done in a satisfactory manner.
He was responding to a comment from fellow Senior Minister Dr William Duguid, who asked about the benefits that accrued to Barbados by signing economic partnership agreements with the European Union.
The Samoa Agreement was signed in November 2023 and there was some pushback by religious groups and education advocates on comprehensive sexuality education and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legislation.
“If I recall correctly, one of the areas of greatest concern was the desirability expressed by the Europeans, and signed on to by the vast majority, of having our young children be exposed to education in schools about their sexual reproductive rights,” Symmonds said.
He said these discussions took the country into places it was “uncomfortable in going” culturally.
“As a parent of a young child, I believe that that is something that we need to seriously look at, because what we fail to recognise is that around the world – and let us not fool ourselves, to some extent here in the Caribbean as well – there are those who will have a very predatory posture towards young people, underage boys and underage girls.
“And unless we try to set up some guardrails and to help them to start to think at an early age about what they may or may not be getting themselves involved in; understanding
choice, understanding what permissions mean and how permission to do anything can have its consequences, those are conversations which we really do need to have. And that is part of what that discussion and that arrangement was about.”
After the signing, Symmonds defended Barbados’ decision when some CARICOM neighbours expressed reluctance. Roman Catholic Archbishop of Port of Spain, Jason Gordon, urged Trinidad and Tobago not to sign, but they have since done so, as have Jamaica.
“Access to quality, comprehensive sexuality education, therefore is an empowering tool, which equips the learner, and in the case of the female, it enables her to have better control over her health, her lifestyle, her body and her future.
“I reject any notion that there’s anything questionable or undesirable about the empowerment of young females in this regard,” Symmonds said at that time.
He told Duguid the European Union was reaching out to provide business opportunities as signalled by the presence of president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at last month’s CARICOM Heads Of Government Meeting.
Symmonds said Europe was interested in renewable energy options and Barbados needed to capitalise on this opportunity to provide hydrogen, the ideal form in which it can be shipped, but the relationship continued to grow. (SAT)
The post Symmonds defends EU partnership appeared first on nationnews.com.