Society has become “hyper-sexualised” and “hyper-aggressive”, and children are becoming easy targets for predators, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has said.

She was responding to questions from the Express yesterday about the recent murders of children and statistics from the Child Protection and Adoption Agency (CAPA), which recorded 5,498 child victims of criminal offences between 2020 and 2025.

“The majority of citizens are good, law-abiding people. However, there is too much pornography, alcohol and drug addiction in the country, combined with lack of parental responsibility, along with mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, etc. The society is hyper-sexualised, hyper-aggressive and decisions are being taken on emotions and not with common sense or proper reasoning. Some persons lack self-control and their need for instant gratification is driving many social and criminal problems. Children become an easy target for these people,” said Persad-Bissessar.