Kingston Holiday Visitor Writes Pastor About Sex With Two Cousin Brothers

Dear Pastor,

I was eighteen when I had sexual relations with two of my cousins on the same night. I had travelled to Kingston for a holiday with my father's relatives. Because I reached the city late, my female cousin explained that she already had plans to go out with her boyfriend and could not take me along.

Two of her brothers said they would stay home and keep me company. They went out and bought food for me. After I finished eating and used the bathroom, I went to sleep.

While I was resting, one of them woke me. He said it was the eve of the holiday and I should not turn in so early. I told him I was exhausted. I asked where his brother was, and he said the man had gone out but would return soon.

He told me I looked attractive and began touching my breasts. I reminded him that I had a boyfriend, but he said that did not matter. When I asked what his brother would do if he walked in and saw us, he said the brother would say nothing.

After a long while, I agreed to have sex with him. Looking back, it felt as though I had lost my senses, but I went through with it. Just as he finished, his brother came in carrying ice cream and other items sold on the road. He said he had brought them for me.

He questioned me for some time and eventually asked whether I had slept with his brother. I admitted that I had. He then said that meant I should sleep with him as well. I protested that we were cousins and that such a thing was wrong. He asked whether I had ever heard that when cousins have sex it makes good soup, and then we had sex. Neither of them used protection.

I could not fall asleep again. Their sister did not return until the following morning, and her boyfriend slept in the same bed with us. That night marked my first time sharing a bed with a man and his girlfriend, and my first time having sex with two cousins.

During the holiday, her brothers handled the cooking and it felt like a large feast. Both men later asked whether I had enjoyed sleeping with them. I answered no because I did not want them to pressure me into doing it again. I never said a word to their sister about what happened.

Before I left Kingston, I asked one of them, "Suppose you got me pregnant?" He replied that any child would belong to his other brother because he had not discharged inside me.

Since then, I do not trust any of my cousins. When I returned home, I could not look my boyfriend in the face. He kept asking what was wrong and why I had become so quiet. I consider myself lucky that I did not become pregnant.

Whenever my female cousin calls, she invites me back to Kingston. I always say I will come only if my boyfriend agrees, and she insists he must allow it because we are not married. Each year, as that holiday draws near, I am reminded of the night I had sex with two men who are my cousins and who are brothers. It is not a memory I cherish.

Y.

Dear Y.,

Those young men likely recognised that you were inexperienced — a country girl who had just arrived in Kingston and placed trust in them. You did not resist, and resisting is what you should have done. In my view, they sexually abused you. Your female cousin also should not have left you in that situation with her brothers. She may have believed they would simply keep you company.

I am relieved that you did not get pregnant. What took place cannot be undone, but it was certainly not a healthy lesson to carry forward.

Pastor