HJNO Jan/Feb 2025

26 JAN / FEB 2025 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS ... How am I going to say this? I would say that the Sean Combs, P. Diddy situation is a prime example of how it is across the board, and it doesn't matter what income or race … none of those things matter. Be- cause it comes to the amount of money that is made in that industry. I don't know of anything else that makes more money at this point and the people who are involved. So, I tell my family, and I'm very cognizant myself, "When you're out, especially if you're by yourself, make sure that you're not out too late because age doesn't matter as much. Anybody can become a victim." When I was the chair of the Select Com- mittee on Women and Children, I began to learn a lot more about it. Someone shared with me a case of a young man, 13, whose dad was on drugs; and as abusive as his dad had been, his dad had gotten locked up. His only concern was when his dad was going to get out because his dad was selling him for drugs — and the sadder part was that he thought it was OK. That's the thing that bothers me more than anything because when you're brought up with this kind of lifestyle, you don't know differently. You think that this is normal because most people who are in the arena think it is nor- mal — it's happened so often and so long. One of the hardest parts for me is bring- ing all of our partners together to be on the same page to make sure that we get to the ultimate goal of ensuring that our kids have the necessary pathway for a bright future. It's a fight with officers, DAs, judges, medical doctors sometimes, in terms of just trying to prove what has happened. And that part for me is one that I'm not go- ing to give up as long as I'm still here. Editor What other strategies or measures do you think are necessary to truly address the root causes of predatory sexual behav- ior against children? Sen. Barrow First of all, education. That's why I may begin looking at what I can do in terms of ensuring that this is getting out so that kids understand and then know that there is a recourse. This [law] is a mea- surable recourse. When you abuse a child, you could be castrated, which ultimately changes your life forever. Does it neces- sarily change the behavior sometimes? Maybe not, but you cannot inflict the same level of danger as you did before. You can- not impregnate anybody. Those are some things that cannot happen. There are chil- dren who have been born from those situ- ations who then become products of the outcome, because most people, may either abort, may do adoption, or, if they keep the child, it may not be a good, cohesive en- vironment. Ultimately, the child becomes a victim of something that they had nothing to do with. Those are some things that we know can be some definite outcomes, but at the end of the day, I believe many folks who commit these crimes would think twice. So, I believe the education of this is extremely important in terms of what can happen. I pray to God that other states start doing it because the more of us who start doing it, you're going to see less and less of this behavior — that, I am assured of. Editor I think for many victims of abuse, this is very empowering to them. Even as adults, as they're watching this, they’re say- ing, "OK, I can't take advantage of this but the next one can." Sen. Barrow And that's what it's about, making sure that our next generation, our kids, can. When I was the chair of the Se- lect Committee of Women and Children and we brought in all the sexual assaults that were happening on the LSU campus and found out sexual assaults were hap- pening on all the campuses, I said, "Oh no, no, no, no, no. What is happening here? I know that this has been a culture, but we're not going to continue to stand by and to al- low this to be." And we have not. So, every year, we just keep pushing more and more. Editor Has that stopped at LSU? Sen. Barrow I'll tell you one thing, they defi- nitely are taking it more seriously. I don't hear as many cases as I used to. I have not looked at it lately, but I can tell you that numbers have definitely dropped. Editor We just ran a feature on rape. CDC says 1 in 4 women have been raped or at- tempted rape; and in Louisiana, Tulane re- search is actually saying six women have been raped. Those numbers are staggering to me. Sen. Barrow And, I think they're higher. Editor Most experts say that, too. Talk about a culture change that needs to happen. I was talking to a girlfriend who attended LSU in the ‘80s the other day about those startling rape stats, and her response was, “Well, these girls are drinking too much and then they're regretting what they did the next morning.” And she says, “I used to get grabbed at LSU when I went to a bar. My mother got grabbed when she went to LSU. These girls just need to get over it.”And I looked at her astonished, “I used to get grabbed at LSU, too. You do know that's not okay. Don’t you?” Sen. Barrow That's not okay. Editor It is not okay to be walking anywhere and get touched in a private part by any- body. They probably don't have a shot with you on their best day, and they're grabbing you in a dark place — that is sexual assault. That is not acceptable. And my girlfriend was just looking at me with this look of shock on her face and said after a moment, “Well, I guess you are right.” Sen. Barrow That right there is the other thing. That's the other hidden part behind of all of this — some may not see that as be- ing wrong because it's been part of a gen- erational mindset that has been allowed or has been promulgated. Like, in order to move up, especially as a female, then this is what you need to do. I had this conversa- tion with some of my girlfriends in terms of what girls are taught and how they should act and what may be allowable be- havior and not. The education piece about good touch, bad touch, what's appropriate, what's inappropriate? When something is wrong, where do you go? We don't always have all the connecting dots of knowing where to go, who to talk to … and then trust to ensure proper action, because a lot of times, it's reported and then nothing hap- pens. I had students at LSU tell me they are so sorry they ever opened their mouths because then they got ridiculed, they got bullied — all kind of things have happened to them. Some of them consequently dropped out of school, and they did noth- ing wrong. That is what we have to totally rework. We've been taught wrong. You were taught wrong. This is about respect. And no is no. Editor No is no. You've got to teach these little babies and these kids that they do say, “No.” Sen. Barrow Yes. And tell. Editor And tell. Thank you for what you ac- complished, Senator Barrow and thank you for your time. Sen. Barrow You're welcome. n EDITOR'S NOTE: BRAVO LOUISIANA LAWMAKERS! THANK YOU FOR STANDING UP FOR THESE CHILDREN.