Empowerment of Girls Remains High on Agenda – Grange

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, says the empowerment of children, particularly girls, remains high on the agenda of the Government.

“We will remain steadfast in the implementation of legal frameworks and policies that will support and facilitate the advancement of girls. These include Trafficking in Persons and Child Pornography laws, the Child Care and Protection Act, and the impending Sexual Harassment Act,” she said.

The Minister’s message was read by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Allison McLean, during the launch of the 2016 State of the World Population Report, at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ),  in Kingston, on November 11.

Miss Grange said the Government is determined to take appropriate measures to deal with the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse of the nation’s girls.

“In July of this year, we signalled our intention to reconvene the Joint Select Committee of  Parliament which will examine several critical pieces of legislation that will punish persons who  carry out heinous crimes against women and children,” she said.

She explained that the review is designed to redefine or augment, as appropriate, punishment and remedies that would be applied to persons convicted of killing pregnant women, the murder of children, sexual offences against children, the abduction of children and other such violent crimes.

In the meantime, the Minister  said investing  in girls can solve local challenges such as poverty, early sexual initiation and pregnancy, gender inequality and violence against women and girls.

“Each child must be nurtured, cared for and must be safe and secure and free from discrimination,” she emphasised.

Miss Grange  said the Government has made considerable progress in improving equal access to quality education, skills and training and  the participation of women and girls in high level decision making.

“We have been enacting legislation to protect women and girls and  we have been expanding healthcare and other services,” she added.

The Minister argued that the success of humanity is inextricably linked to the life success of a girl, and that the power of the girl child is inextricably linked with her ability to participate and benefit equally from the nation’s social, cultural, economic and political development.

The 2016 State of the World Population Report focuses on the power of nations to ignite the potential of a 10 year-old girl to make a safe and healthy transition from adolescence to adulthood and become a productive member of society, and is framed within the context of the new 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals.