Last Sunday, a video was posted on Facebook showing Helen Bartlett, a mother of four from Point Fortin, beating her sobbing daughter while hurling abuses at her.
The video showing the mother from Trinidad and Tobago whipping her 12-year-old daughter with a belt for sharing nude photos of herself on Facebook went viral as it has triggered a national conversation in the island nation about corporal punishment.
The few minutes clip, which depicted Ms Bartlett (mother of the offender) throwing blows at the 12-year-old girl, who cried in pain from the huge belt, has been shared more than 43,000 times online. On Wednesday, Bartlett’s daughter and her older sister shared the video in response to the nude photos their silly sister had uploaded, expressing support for their mother.
When Helen Bartlett was interviewed by a local radio station earlier this week, the woman declared she was ‘prepared to go to jail’ to set her wayward young daughter on the right path, Trinidad Express reported.
Asked if she regretted her actions, Ms Bartlett, who has three girls and a boy, said she stood by her mode of discipline, but she was sorry that the video intended to shame her 12-year-old has gained such notoriety.
Ms Bartlett explained that since the girl’s father, a police officer, left them, the child has been difficult to control.
The single mother added that she has exhausted all possibilities trying to keep her daughter in check, including seeking counseling for her.
And according to Ms Bartlett, the 12-year-old’s father has been of no help, telling the girl that he wanted nothing to do with her.
Watch video below:
Was Bartlett’s action too violent?
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