A respected university academic has warned that failure to invest in initiatives to address problems such as crime and violence in Barbados could result in fallout for the entire society.Former University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus principal, the Most Honourable Professor Emerita Eudine Barriteau said crime, broken homes, and other challenges were symptoms of the economic struggle being experienced by low and middle-income earners. And she underscored that Government had a responsibility to respond to suit through the provision of social services.“There are indications that worrying social challenges are on the ascendance. If these are not contained, the social cohesion which has been the defining feature of Barbados, and for which the country is well known and widely admired, would become increasingly fragile,” warned the keynote speaker of the 2022 Ermie Bourne Memorial Lecture held virtually on Sunday.“The prevalence of young men shooting and killing each other are symptoms of economic hardships and deprivation, failed families, overburdened mothers, absent fathers, declining community and extracurricular programmes in schools.“It would be to the detriment of the wellbeing of Barbados if we take the position that the problems of crime-ridden neighbourhoods; the underperformance of far too many of our children in primary and secondary schools; the struggles, indifference, or inability of parents in raising children are all challenges that belong exclusively to those experiencing them,” Barriteau added.