HJAR Nov/Dec 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  NOV / DEC 2024 23 Editor This went into effect in August? Sen. Barrow Yes, Aug. 1. Edito r Have there been any cases that qualify? Sen. Barrow The case that I just mentioned to you did qualify. Editor This has never been passed in the United States. Sen. Barrow No. Editor So, you're bringing up a bill to do this … and men are pretty fond of those parts. What was your pitch to your fellow legislators? Sen. Barrow I would say to my colleagues, “First of all, if you are not molesting, raping a child, then this doesn't apply to you. Why is this a problem? Help me understand this.” That was pretty much it. They were like, “Well, dang, Regina.” I said, “Am I right there?Am I wrong?”So, they were like, “OK.” [Here, she threw her hands back, imitating the lawmakers' gesture of backing down, signaling their surrender and giving up their resistance.] But, then the other part of that, especially that my African American colleagues brought up was the connotation connected to slavery. And so, I said to them, “We are not in slavery. And again, if you are not molesting children, no one is looking to castrate you.” It was pretty rough, and I say rough in that I could sense the tension sometimes in caucus meetings or other settings. But what I know that they knew is that I was very firm about where I was going with it. Then it was hard to really be able to build a defense against it when, at the end of the day, if you're not molesting children, then it shouldn't be a problem. And that is definitely how I felt about it because that's the truth — If you're not molesting a child, then it's not a problem. Nobody's going to castrate you. Editor This is why you get the cigar. Sen. Barrow The other thing, I would say, which added more to this entire situation, is that we are getting ready to appoint the new secretary over the Office of Juvenile Justice. These, in the juvenile justice system, are the most vulnerable children in our state because they are in the system due to something that has happened. What I learned in the report — which had a lot of information redacted, but you could certainly read between the lines — was that many things really stood out. It almost looked like there was a sex ring happening; then there were females who had been raping female girls. When I read that one of the children just literally gave up because she couldn't fight anymore — there was no help … no help — I was like, “We are literally failing children all the way around.” In some kids, it is not picked up in school because teachers have all these mandates that they've got to meet, and follow up, and do, so nobody sees that child who is falling behind, not in any extracurricular activity or [lack of] friends, and nobody helps them. But they are still expected to perform, to do, pass; and when they can't, then people say, “You're dumb,” or, “You can't learn.” They accept that as being a part of who they are, and it's not. It is no fault of their own. At least I can give some level of hope. And I have said to young people, “If you have a situa- tion like this, let me know so we can make sure that they're prosecuted so they don't hurt anybody else.”That was devastating for me. That kept me up for at least two nights. Because there was nobody that they could call. We were their last resort, and this is what happened in the last resort. Edito r How important do you think school nurses are in helping identify children who are sexually abused? Sen. Barrow They are extremely important. I've always supported them, have always helped to try to make sure that we had funding in the programs, especially those schools that already have them to make sure that they are maintained. We need to do that across the board, but again, we still are not doing enough in those areas. They are extremely important because they can catch what the regular physician may not catch. They see the child every day, or somebody else sees the child and may share with them, “Hey, something is just not right with XYZ. Can you bring her in? Can you bring him in and see what's going on?”Unfortunately, and I would say this again, it happens way too often to males. When I did this bill, there were several men who contacted me in various ways to thank me because they had never shared their story. Editor What has been the reaction from the public and from victims' advocacy groups to the passing of this bill? Sen. Barrow Those who are not in favor have not said anything directly to me. There was a comment made by an individual that I know … something about cutting stuff off or whatever. But most people have embraced it and have told me, “Thank you.” Again, there have been people that you would never suspect who have been victims of abuse who were saying, “This happened to me. I'm glad you did it. I wish this was in place when this happened to me. We're just making sure that we are sharing this with every young person that we know so that they know how to contact and know what steps to take to report someone to ensure that whoever violates them does not have an opportunity to violate anybody else.” Editor Tell us about how children are educated in the Louisiana public school systems about sexual abuse that might happen to them. Sen. Barrow There are entities who don't believe that the government should be teaching various things to children. That has been an obstacle for us for many years,