“Mommy Can’t Even Trust Daddy”: Turner’s Stark Warning to Parliament on Child Sexual Abuse

“It is sad to say that Mommy can’t even trust Daddy.”

That was St. Peter MP and Minister of Social and Urban Transformation Rawdon Turner’s warning to the House of Representatives on Monday as he described the sexual abuse cases confronting Antigua and Barbuda’s social services staff.

Turner spoke during debate on the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which the Lower House subsequently passed. He said his work as minister had exposed him to reports involving children harmed by people who should have protected them.

Growing up in Parham, Turner said, he knew the belief that “it takes a village to raise a child.” But the village had failed children, he argued, when relatives, caregivers and other trusted adults became their abusers.

Turner told Parliament that his ministry had encountered more than 200 reported cases of physical and sexual abuse. He said the accounts were distressing for the department’s director and social workers, who must respond to them repeatedly.

“When I read the reports, it traumatises you,” he said.

The minister recounted several cases in which young children were sexually assaulted and offenders received sentences he considered wholly inadequate.

He challenged anyone in the House to explain how a three-year prison term could reflect the harm caused when an adult sexually violates a five-year-old.

“Which mitigating circumstances?” Turner asked. “There cannot be none.”

His address went beyond sentencing. Turner said a child may disclose abuse only to be dismissed by a parent who cannot accept that a partner or relative is responsible. He urged families to listen to children, recognise warning signs and report concerns early.

“You have to start believing the children,” he told Parliament.

Turner also called for children to be taught, in an age-appropriate way, about bodily boundaries and how to speak up about inappropriate touching.

Neighbours, coaches and other adults must take responsibility when they see behaviour that puts a child at risk, he said.

The minister welcomed the bill’s tougher penalties but acknowledged that criminal law alone cannot prevent abuse behind closed doors.

“We need to protect our children,” he said. “It is our responsibility.”