HJAR Nov/Dec 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  NOV / DEC 2024 25 try to watch and monitor very closely. But it's happening more often than you would imagine. Sometimes it can be the person liv- ing next to you. It is very bad. I am so concerned about the game [Super Bowl LIX] coming here. Louisiana is a prime spot for human trafficking because of our interstate, our port, the many avenues by which people can be moved. All the chil- dren that you see disappearing can often be a part of that sexual ring. The people involved in it would blow your mind. I'm not going to make a big ... 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. Because 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 sell- ing 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 going 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 behavior 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 measurable recourse. When you abuse a child, you could be castrated, which ultimately changes your life forever. Does it necessarily change the behav- ior sometimes? Maybe not, but you cannot inflict the same level of danger as you did before. You cannot impregnate anybody. Those are some things that cannot happen. There are children who have been born from those situations who then become prod- ucts 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 environment. 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 Thank you so much for your time. I think for many victims of abuse, this is very empowering to them. Even as adults, as they're watching this, they’re saying, “OK, I can't take advantage of this but the next one can.” Sen. Barrow The next one can. Editor Yeah. Sen. Barrow And that's what it's about, making sure for our next generation, our kids. Editor Has anyone from Arkansas gotten in touch with you about this? Have you had other ... Sen. Barrow Somebody [did]; I'm not sure if it was Arkansas. I want to say it was Tennessee. But there are some people who definitely have reached out to me about it. What I am going to start monitoring right now is how many judges are actually sentencing individuals to this. When I found out that chemical castration wasn't happening, I was like, “Why?” I couldn't get a definitive answer. Again, there is so much wrapped into this. That's all I can say. I have asked, “What is going on in that area? What is going on in that city?”Because I was like, “It's toomuch.” But I could tell you this: I can see more peo- ple are beginning to go like, “Oh my God, they're not playing.”They see the handwrit- ing on the wall. Editor You got to teach these little babies and these kids that they do say, “No.” Sen. Barrow Yes. And tell. Editor And tell. Thank you, Senator Barrow. Sen. Barrow You're welcome. n ARKANSAS LAWMAKERS, ARE YOU LISTENING?