Action Plan Being Developed to Address Male Issues

KINGSTON — The Male Desk at the Bureau of Women’s Affairs is in the process of developing an action plan to address critical issues relating to men.

In her 2010/11 Sectoral presentation in the House of Representatives on February 2, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, said the desk, established in April 2009, serves to enhance the Bureau’s interaction with men.

“Over the years, the Bureau has targetted men and boys through its schools education programme, and its public education and advocacy initiatives. This desk is a central point providing information on men’s health and development, the role of men in the elimination of gender-based violence, and the creation of a gender-harmonious society, and so on. We have reached several young men under this initiative,” she said.

Additionally, Miss Grange informed, the Bureau is working in partnership with the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation and Woman Inc, to implement a project aimed at gender socialisation of boys and men on issues relating to the elimination of violence against women. The project is financed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

“We are serious about ending gender-based violence…we have made significant efforts to address the problem through initiatives designed to increase knowledge and understanding of the root causes of gender-based violence,” Minister Grange assured.

Meanwhile, poverty among rural women is of great concern, and is being addressed through a multi-sectoral approach, she told the House.

“The Ministry has been actively working with rural women, who are engaged in various income-generating activities to help them create sustainable livelihood,” she informed.

One such activity is the protected agriculture greenhouse and exclusion cage project, which is an intensive production technology strategy that yields greater productivity and higher returns per unit of investment capital.

By Alphea Saunders, JIS Reporter