Helen Bartlett, the mother who allowed herself to be videoed beating her daughter so that it could be posted on Facebook says she doesn’t regret her actions. The beating which continued for 6 minutes was supported by Bartlett’s two daughters, including the girl who was beaten.
The daughters have defended their mum’s actions in another video that was also posted on Facebook yesterday.
In an interview on i95.5FM, Ms Bartlett said she had no regrets about beating her daughter. She said the action was necessary considering her daughter’s behaviour before and after the posts she discovered of her on Facebook. “I would do it again. I rather shame her that way than she comes home as a pregnant teenager,” she said. “I stand firmly by my decision. I will go to jail for that. My daughter will be an example to society,” she added.
Bartlett and her daughter attracted attention after the video the mother posted of her beating of the child went viral. There was a huge public debate over Bartlett’s decision to beat the child and post the incident on social media, with some saying this was no way to punish the child. This has drawn the attention of the police, who say Ms Bartlett could be charged for abuse.
According to the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, Ms Bartlett said she was a single mother of four, three girls and a boy, adding she and the children’s father had broken up and she had been struggling with discipline problems with the child. Commenting on questions from the public regarding the girl’s father, she said: “I hear somebody ask where is the father. I am yet to receive a call from her father.”
She said she believed her daughter was acting out as her negative behaviour began around the time she had separated from her father, adding she had even sought counselling for the child. Ms Bartlett said, however, she had the full support of her family members in the matter. The girl yesterday spoke out on the matter in a video she did with her elder sister. “I am very sorry for the shame I have brought to my family. I am positively sure it will never happen again,” the 12-year-old said.
Looking at the camera, the girl addressed her mother specifically, saying: “I know you love me dearly and I am sorry.” She asked other young girls to make their lives better after watching the video. The 12-year-old’s elder sister said the decision to post the video on the internet was the last resort. “We would take away the phone, it’s the same thing. She goes to school. She has to travel. Nothing works,” she said.
“My mom is very sorry for what happened with the video, with it going viral and everybody talking about it but she did do it because Facebook is where my sister would have had her fame,” she added. The elder sister spoke about the 12-year-old’s conversations with boys and pictures on Facebook of her in her underwear. “If mom felt this was the way to stop it, we should not judge her,” she said
“My mom is not a bad mother. She does not frequently curse us or abuse us like what people are saying. She loves us. This was love.” She asked people to stop sharing the video. “You guys are putting a lot of stress on our family,” she said.
